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iigm FoFwan. Fours ihi, piafcii!" 



ii 



A LITTLE STORY OF 

COMPANY ir 



THIRD WISCONSIN VOLUNTEERS. 

FIRST BRIGADE, FIRST DIVISION, FIRST COP PS. 



BY 
EMANUEL ROSSITER, 
First Lieutenant Company I. Third Wisconsin National Guard. 







To THE Memory of 

1 fiAT IDEAL VOING OFFICER 

LIEUTENANT HECTOR RAE SWIFT, 

WHO Died July 22, 1898, 

AT Charleston, South Carolina. 

HIS \vas a rare spirit, 

A beautiful soul, 

AND there were FEW DRY EVES IN COMPANY I 
WHEN THE MESSAGE OF HIS DEATH WAS READ TO 
US, BY CANDLE LIGHT NEAR PONCE, PORTO RiCO. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



♦ N the following- brief history of Company I, the writer has endeavored to portray truth- 
j fiill)^ the transformation of one of Wisconsin's best National Giiard companies into that 
of the volunteers, called for by President McKinlo}-, in Ajiril, 18'W, and tlieir conse- 
quent movements. 

He has taken the every day life of a Private, who later on became a Corporal, for 
the reason that this Private indulg-es in some "heart to heart talks" occasionally and 
thereby reveals the inner thoughts, sorrows, iind joys, of a representative Co. I man. 

The pictures were taken "on the spot, by our own artist," and the fact of his crawl- 
ing- within twenty feet of Lancaster's Battery in action near Coamo, illustrates the kind 
of kodak fiend he was. 

Perhaps this little record will interest our friends, but it is written first, last and 
all the time for Co. I, and if the writer succeeds in pleasin.g those trained critics he will 
have accomplished all that he hoped for. 

In passing-, it may be well to say that the Third Wisconsin Volunteers consisted of 
twelve companies. One might infer from this record that Co. I was the "whole thing-." 
Each of the other eleven companies felt exactly the same way as to their particular com- 
pany, aiid it was this strong feeling of pride in each of the companies which, intensified 
and centralized into a supreme confidence and love of the Regiment, made the Third Wis- 
consin peerless. 

Co. I, Third Wis. Nat Guard, was mustered into the service of the State Nov. 2''tli, 
1895, with the following officers: Captain, Harrj' W. Newton; First Lieutenant, Ogden 
H. Hammond; Second Lieutenant, Wm. H. Smith. March 1st, 1898, Wm. H. Smith was 
elected First Lieutenant in place of Og-den H. Hammond, who resigned on account of press 
of business. Hector K. Swift being elected Second Lieutenant. The company was 
mustered into the service of the United St£ites at Camp Harvey, Milwaukee, on May llth. 
1898, with these officers in command. Richmond Smith was appointed Second Lieutenant 
about Aug. 20th, while in Coamo, Porto Rico, to till vacancy caused by the death of that 
ideal young- officer, Hector R. Swift. 

So many changes took place in the make-up of the enlisted men from various causes, 
but especially' on account of bringing the total strength up to 104 before leaving foi 
Camp Harve}', and while there reducing it to 84 and later on at Camp Thomas again 
increasing to 109 that it is thought best to give here but one complete roster of the com- 
pany, and that includes every man who was entitled to leave Camp Thomas, Chickamaug-a, 
on Juh' 5th, 1898, for Cuba, the Phillipines or Porto Rico as the War Department saw fit. 
and who did go to Porto Rico, unless prevented from doing .so bj' sickness, which was the 
only thing that could prevent a Co. I man from going to the place where they all longed 
to be, and that was "at the front." Shortly after the muster out on January 9th, 1899, 
at Maryland Hall, the Company formed a civil organization with the following officers: 
President, Lieutenant W. H. Smith; Vice-President, Clifford (t. Howard; Honorary 
Vice-President, Ex-Senator T. 15. Mills; Secretary, Corporal Emanuel Rossiter; Treas- 
urer, Sergeant W. D. Coburn; Executive Committee, Cajitain H. W. Newt(jn, Corporal 
C. F. Langevin. 

On May 27th, 1899, the new Co. I, Third Wisconsin National (iuard, was mustered into 
the service of the State by Colonel W. C. Ginty, and the following officers elected : Captain, 
Harry W. Newton; First Lieutenant, C. F. Langevin; Second Lieutenant, Emanuel 
Rossiter. By the resignation of Captain Newton, who was appointed First Lieutenant 
Thirty-fourth United States Volunteer Infantry, Langevin became Captain, Rossiter 
First Lieutenant, and First Sergeant Sam K. Duflf Second Lieutenant. The new Com- 
pany is working- hard and hopes to be worthy of holding an honored place in the best 
reg-iment of the best National Guard on earth— the Wisconsin National (Juard. 



FIRST CORPS MAJOR GENERAL J. R. BROOKE. 

FIRST DIVISION MAJOR GENERAL J. H. WILSON. 

FIRST BRIGADE BRIGADIER GENERAL O. H. ERNST. 

THIRD WISCONSIN VOLUNTEERS- COLONEL M. T. MOORE. 

FIRST BATTALION MAJOR T. J. GEORGE. 



COMPANY I. 



\ 



Harry W. 

William H. Smith, First Lieutenant. 

Richmond Smith, First Serg-eant. 
Fred S. Russell, Serj,'-eant. 

(ieorg^e M. Coburn. Serj^-eant. 

Robert B. McLean, Jr., Corporal. 
Georg-e S. Gififin, Corporal. 

Charles F. Lanyevin, Corporal. 
Fred A. Weade, Corporal. 
Harry E. Briggs, Corporal. 
Emanuel Ross iter. Corporal. 
Eth;in 

Harry H. Howell, Musician. 
John S. Larson, Artificer. 



Newton, Captain. 

Hector R. Swift, Second Lieutenant. 

Charles W. Newton, Guar. Mast. Sergeant. 
William D. Coburn, Sergeant. 

Thomas R. Christie, Sergeant. 

John S. Herzog, Corporal. 
Robert Kelly, Corporal. 

Frank C. Buckley, Corporal. 
John H. Runnings, Corporal. 
William E. LeBlanc, Corporal 
Samuel K. Duff, Jr., Corporiil. 
Allen, Corporal. 

Walter P. McCombs, Musician. 
Robert J. Grace, Wagoneer. 



Robert B. Allen, Private, 
August Anderson, ' 
George A. Anderson, ' 
David Anderson, ' 

Percy T. Armitage, ' 
David R. Burnett, 
John P. Burnett, 
Earle I. Barker, ' 

Clarence Banks, 
Jrmies Beattie, ' 

August C. Braue, 
David Bergstrom, 
Harry W. Clark, 
Frank E. Clarity, 
(icorge E. Cournoyer, ' 
Thomas Conroj', 
Edward C. C<jmiskey, ' 
Mathias J. Conroj', ' 
Edward L. Can field,* 
( )scar P. Champagne, ' 
James D. Dor an, ' 

Andrew Donovan, ' 
Arthur C. Earnshaw, ' 
Carl W. Elson, 
James M. Frink, 
John D. Gill. 
Covin F. (Jill, 
Anston H. Gullickson ' 
John M. Gregor}-, ' 

Several promoti(jns were 



Oscar F. Heyer. Private. 
John A. Haverstick, 
Alon/.o R. Hammond, 
Armenius B. Hender- 
George C. Henry, 
John A. Hemstreet, 
.Vlbert J Heath, 
Charles E. Hudson, 
Arthur Henry, 
William A. Hadler. 
•"lift'ord G. Howard, 
Frank N. Kenney. 
William W. Kemp, 
Leonord J. Kinne, 
Bedford J. Kinne, 
Thomas L. Kiley, 
P^rank O. Lindcjuist, 
Ole Landswick, 
Roll a T. r>,,ng. 
Herman J. Laltitte, 
Carl < ). Ivund, 
Hermans. Lock wood, 
William K. McNair, 
Jeremiah P. McCaven 
Hugh B. Mills, Jr , 
Charles N. Munro, 
Joseph T. Morrisette, 
Patrick F. McCann. 



George E. Mc(Tuire, Priv 
Carl H. Newman, 
Thomas A. McNaughton 
David Nesbit, 
Edward G. O'Kelly, 
Elmer Olson, 
James S. Powers 
Homer B. Purdy 
Oliver R. Price, 
Nicholas G. Penfound, 
Chas. A. Rogers, 
Harry E. Spring, 
Fred S. Shimian, 
(TCorge F. Scales, 
Edward G. Shroeder, 
Clemens O. Schaal, 
Lawrence H. Strong, 
Edmund T. S afford, 
Ralph H. Shamp, 
Joseph O. Sabom, 
Newton G. Steck, 
Robert Spaetig, 
Hugh B. Sommerville. 
John M. Sykes, 
Charles P\ Thompson. 
George F. Wilklow, 
Walter W. Whipple, 
I-'rank S. Zachau, 



ite. 



made after this date — July ,5th, 1898, 



SUPERIOR. 

THE "Private" joined Compaii}' I, Third Wisconsin National (Jnard "just Uiv the 
exercise," which, needless to sa}-, he got in all its various forms, from Maryland 
Hall to Aibonita, Porto Rico, before his term of enlistment expired. They were a 
fine lot of fellows, those Company I boys — nearly all his friends before he became one of 
them, emd all his friends tifterwards; that was the Company I spirit. It was great fun 
after he got into the swing- of the thing, and mastered the details. The drills were g-ood 
exercise, and the dances afterwards were better. That was the high collar, white glove 
period, the J0II3' Maryland Hall time. Thus it went on for a year or two, until one morn- 
ing- he took up the "Leader" at breakfast and gazed, wide e_ved, at a headline that 




COMPANY I, MARYLAND HALL, SUPERIOK. Al'KII. 28TH, 1898. 
"RIGHT FORWARD, FOURS RIGHT, MARCH!" "COLFMN LEFT, MARCH I" 

changed the map of the world— "The Maine blown up in Havana." Company I became 
excited. Would there be war? There was plenty of time for discussion, while the inves- 
tigation was going on, and The Private thought it over carefully. He had a pretty fair 
position. There were lots of fellows to go who could better be spared, perhaps. But he 
belonged to the Wisconsin National Guard; he had advertised that fact in blue clothes 
and brass buttons, and was proud of it — a Company I man, the best Company in the 
State, as every man should feel about his Company. If the Third was called, would he 
go? Why, of course he would. There was nothing else for him to do. It wouldn't take 
us six months to whip Spain. The Navy would do most of the lighting, but the "Third 




A MOKNING WASH AT CAMP HAKVKV, WISCONSIN. 



Ml 





O.I SUPERIOR 



CO.MI'ANV I HOLDS A KKCKl'TIOX AT CAMP HAKVEV, WISCONSIN. 
" THIC KULING PASSION STRONG IN DEATH " — ADVERTISE SUPERIOR. 



Wisconsin" would be heard from if tlie opportunity presented itself. 'Twas ffcttinj,'- 
intense. The drills were hot. The bulletin boards wen' never witliout an "I" man. 
The air was charg-ed with war. The drills were still hotter. Maryland Hall was 
packed, and at last it came. Tiiat was a great nig^ht the night Comjiany I volunteered. 
A few could not g-o, mostly married men, and a few others for g-ood reasons. We some- 
times think it took more courage to stay at home than to g-o to the front. Others came for- 
ward to make up the deficiency, and Captain Newton had plenty of material from which 
to select. It was very dramatic. Squads were out notifying- and bringing- in a few who 
had not heard of the "C^lll." 

Captain Newton made a very earnest little sjieech, impressing- on the boys what it 
meant to go, and not to volunteer unless the}' fully realized the seriousness of what they 
were doing-. 

Afterwards there was great scurrying- about. The I'rivate thought lie was all read}', 
but still there were last things to be g-otten among- them a cop3' of Shakesj-ieare, which 
could g-o in his knapsack without occupying- too much space. His iittle niece's Bible, and 
a copy of "Drill Regulations." The latter, he laughing-ly told his niece, would jirobably 
be very necessary. 

THE START. 

t Evening Tele^Tani, April 2S, 1808.1 
Today has been a red letter day in the history of Superior. One hundred and one of 
her manliest and noblest 3'oung- men have volunteered to g-o to the front and place their 
lives at the disposal of the president in defense of the honor, the glory, and the traditions 
of their country. 

Next morning, the 28th of April, he came down to breakfast with his Wisconsin 
National Guard clothes on — blue shirt and all — and with a gasp his friends realized 
fully what it meant. That was a day to be remembered — his people's tears they tried so 
hard to hold back, the roses from the girls, the "goodbye old man," accompanied b\- the 
heartfelt pressure of the hand from his many friends, buckling on the heavy marching 
order, and the line-up on the pavement by Maryland Hall, the "Right Forward, Fours 
Rig-ht, Column Left," and the dazzling march down Tower Avenue to the depot. The little 
detour oft" Tower, to paj^ homage to the God of battles, and begin our journey iis Christain 
soldiers should, by listening to the eloquent prayer of Rev. Palin Saxby outside St. 
Alban's on Ogden and Broadwa3^ The crush at the depot, where his dearest friends 
had almost to fight a wa}^ to him. At last at 5:30 p. m. we are off in a storm of huzzas 
and tears. Thank Heaven, it's over. That was the hardest wrench of all. 

Old Superior — cheers and farewells again, and some of our friends leave us here. 
Now comes Itasca full of enthusiasm. Then we settle down to arrange our belongings. 
Barker, our peerless singer, gave us a first touch of the wonderful help his songs 
were to be to us all down the long road to Porto Rico. At every station it was cheers, 
cheers I At Spooner a bright little boy recited wonderfully for us; we had coffee and our 
supper. At Rice Lake, Lieutenant Swift's father's home, a band and the G. A. R. saluted 
us, and we were presented with a fine eagle, which was unanimously christened "Bill" 
McKinley. At Chippew^a Falls, a perfect ovation — red fire, music and crowds. Mrs. Gen. 
Geo. C. Ginty, presenting The Private with a canteen which had gone through the civil 
war, and which, by the way, also passed through the Spanish-American wai'. The night 
passed merrily, and next morning Co. I marched from the train to their location in the 
State Fair Grounds, Milwaukee — named 

CAMP HARVEY. 

After a short wait, we laid out our company street, in tenls, the only comjiany in our 
regiment outside of the barns. We had a fine location, with a very convenient fence back 
of us, which was the cause of many funny happenings later on. The regular drills and 
guard work began very soon. Quite a little rain and much mud at first, and very cold— 
.so cold that ice formed at night— the boys sleeping with overcoats, shoes and hats on, and 
breaking ice in the creek to w^ash in the morning. It was all taken in good spirit. 
Governor Scofield and General Boardman attended to all wants per.sonally. and all were 




\V. 1). DWVKR KOK "THE WOMEN OF SUPERIOR" PRESENTS COMPANY I WITH THE 
"STAR SPANGLED BANNER — CAMP HARVEY, WISCONSIN. 




COMPANY I AND THE NEWS OF DI'.WEY'S VICTORY — CAMP HAKVEY, WISCONSIN. 



well treated at Ciiinp Harvey. It was a i)icnic so far, ami a '^iKn\ yAiv. The uealher iin- 
]in)ved. Thousands, from all over the state, came out to see us. 

On May 7th Capteiiii Karnshaw arri\ed in char.i^'-e of half a e.iiload of ,i;-ood thiii;^s to 
eat, from the jieople of Superior, who oer1ainl\- treated L'onipany I royally. 

Mr. W. D. Dwyer arrived on Ma}- Sth, a lovely Sunday-, with a heauliful silk lla;,-- for 
the company from the women of Superior. Mr. Dwyer, on beiialf of the ladies, matle a 
most appropriate speech, .and while the comjiauN- wimc lint'd up al "Present Anns" Caj)- 
tain Newton received the splendid emblem, and th;ml<i^'d the ladies in a heartfelt manner. 

We lost but four men on jihysical examination but we were very sorry to lose them 
little Severe Behmger especially, whom the whole comjiany loved. Owing to a reduction 
in the size of companies, which took place at Camp Harvey, we were obliged to transfer 
several of our new men to other comjianies many of the other comjianies h,i\ing lost more 




OUR PET, SEVERE, WAS NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO GO, HUP HIS H1;aK 1' WAS— 
CAMP HARVEY, WISCONSIN. 

men on examination— Morris and Peppard going with the Second AVisconsin, and Fitz- 
gerald, Johnson, Hickok, Anderson, Reynolds, Nugent, Booth and Eighmy with other 
companies of our own Third. Hunter. Anderson and Jilson returned home, as did Beattie, 
Belanger, J. W. Kelly and Foster, who were rejected. We were very sorry to lose these 
good men, and the writer very much doubts whether he could stand the separation from 
his compiiny and still go on. 

The news of Dewey's great victory came at Camp Harvey, and we aim Dst split our 
throats cheering, with all our regimant, at the wonder of it. 

One dark night, about twenty- five Co. I men made "a sneak" after roll call; passed 
through the "I" hole under the fence, rode into Milwaukee, where Robt. Kelly, as treas- 
urer of the conspirators, chartered a special trolly car for our return, and we proceeded 
to have a good time. Went to the Palm Garden, which was crowded. Barker sang, and 
was applauded to the echo. The orchestra stopped and Barker held the house until clos- 



ing- time. The Scnfiurl mentioned the Superior vocalist next da_v. Ever^v man g-ot home 
safeh'. 

An order was issued in Camp Harve^y to burnish up all buttons, etc. Comiskey, who 
had yained the title of "Slats," was returning' from outside throug^h the "I" hole, and 
caug'ht in the act by Captain Newton, who sternly asked: "What are j'ou doing there, 
sir?" "Shits," as he wig'g'led half throug'h on his stomach, answered: "I am just shining- 
my buttons, CaptainI" This same "I" hole was used extensively by the reg^iment to 
"sneak" beer through. Mills, w-ho was off duty, took a g^un, stationed himself near the hole 
and levied tribute from the smugglers, passing- the bottles to Langevin, who carried them 
to their tent. Captain Newton, who was officer of the day, coming from an unexpected 
direction, surprised Mills, whose eyes were glued to the hole, and asked: "What are you 
doing with a gun when not on duty?" Mills was caught, but bravely said: "Well, 
Captain. I didn't want those fellows to give our company a bad reputation, so I was pre- 
venting the beer from passing through this hole." Steck, our oldest man, and a g-ood 
one, who was awfully afraid of being turned down on physical examination, on being 
asked his age, answered: "I'm just old enough to go to war, sir I" 

Good work was done at Camp Harvey in drilling. Danas' Third Regiment Band 
made its appearance — the finest we heard in all our travels. 

Great was the rejoicing- when, after sixteen days of drilling- and g'-ood times, on May 
14th, the orders came to start for Chickamaug-a. Our old Third Reg^-iment was to hold the 
p<jst of honor and leave first. We had been mustered into the service of the United States 
on May 11th, by Captain Buck. 

The Private received a receii-)t for dues paid up for six months from the Superior 
Lodge of Elks, which was a pleasant way the B. P. O. E. took of showing- their remem- 
brance of their re]-)resentative at the front. 

GOING SOUTH. 

After the usual waits we were at last aboard our train. One of the most beautiful 
and pathetic sights of our experience was seen in passing the Soldiers' National Home, 
Milwaukee. The old veterans lined up on the lawn and cheered us as we passed. It 
made the boys feel a little damp about the eyes, and a man must fight, with such a 
rememberance in mind. (We lost Braden in Milwaukee. He was offered a commission in 
a South Dakota regiment. He was a fine man, and had joined as a private, although 
previously having held a commission in Dakota.) All through our beautiful State we 
were cheered. We arrived in Chicago at night, and after a stop at the stockyards went 
on our way, awakening next morning'-, the 15th, in Indiana — a beautiful morning and 
fine country. The most vivid impression of Terra Haute in The Private's mind is of 
drinking three cups of coffee in record breaking time, as he really had no right to be off 
the train. 

After leaving Terra Haute, he wrote a note to a friend in Evjinsville, and gave it to a 
girl in Evansville to post; it being a theorj^ of his that a nice girl would always do any- 
thing of that kind better than a man. The depot platform and streets in Evansville were 
simply packed, and Company I got a most beautiful collection of hat pins in exchange for 
buttons. 

So we kept on our way to Kentucky, where roses and tobacco w^ere showered on us. 
Kentucky is very beautiful. At Guthrie, a himdsome dark-eyed boy refused the offered 
dime, saying, "I don't want yoh money; I'm right glad to post yoh letters; but you all 
will need you money before yoh get back from Cuba." 

We went on our way to Tennessee, passing through the very finest scenery. At 
Nashville we made the depot ring with our "TJh Rah, Rah, Wisconsin." They were 
very friendly to us in Nashville. 

CHICK AM AUG A. 

Next morning, the lf)th, we awoke in sight of Lookout Mountain -a glorious morn- 
ing—and soon glided into Chattanooga, whence, after a few hours, we went on to Camp 
Thomas, Chicamauga. Leaving the train at Lytle, Ga., the little- village just beginning 
to show signs of the wonderful transformation which took place so soon after, we took up 
our march for the "Kelly Field," one of the finest locations on the ground, we being the 



second volunteer reg-imeut on tlic j^Tuiind, altliouj;h w itliin a slmrl lime 5(i,()()() men wore 
camped there. One of the first sif^'-hts that ^reetetl (nir ryes was a cmral ol sf\eral luin- 
dred mules, and the next was the beautirul nKumnicnts, wliirli stnnr ol us were investi- 
g'ating' before we reached c^lm]l. 

That nig-ht we slept beautifullj', under the stars, although jioor Tom Kile^' (jbjected 
to a mule walkhig- over us during- the nig-ht. Next day tents were gotten up in proi)er 
shape. That evening the tirst dress parade since leaving Camp Harvey was held on 
historic Kell^' Field. It was grand, with its memories of otlier days, and gave us a feel- 
ing- of exaltation which was inspiring-. Tiie reg-iment settled duAii to business, and great 
and useful work it was — skirmish work out in the woods, at w hich Colonel Moore was 
an expert (and which, by the way, is the most practical of all drilling). Regimental In- 
spection, Battalion Drills, Brigade and Division Reviews, and ;ill the rest nf it. .More 




^^'•;i«l'. 



THE CKUSH AT LVTI.IC 



THEKE IS A TIDE IN THE AI'-pAIKS OK MEN. 
LVTLE. GEOKOI.A. 



troops gathered at Chickamauga than had been assembled in one si>ot since the Civil War; 
so we had the benefit of many movements, which men old in the service had not received. 
Shortly after our arrival The Private was lined up at guard mount, when Adjutant 
Holway selected three men from the guard as a special detail for General Burt at Brigade 
Headquarters, and he was one of the lucky three. When he reported back to Lieutenant 
Swift, Hector, who was very much pleased, got out his brushes and gave him a most 
fhorough going over, in order that Company I might be i>ro]ierly rei)resented at Head- 
quarters. The duties were very easy, and he had his first sight of a sure enough Regular 
Army General, and a very fine man General Burt was That evening, while oflF guard, 
he went over on the Kelly Field to see the Third dress parade, stationed himself directly 
back of the reviewing officers, and it happened that General Brooke, General Wilson and 
General Burt were all there. The look of amazement and delight on General Burfs face, 
when the Third Wisconsin went through the different movements, was good to see. 'Twas 



the tirst time he h:ul seen the Kej^iment do its work, and The Private has never witnessed 
as tine a dress i>arade. When Colonel Moore started off the tield. General Brooke called 
him back, sayings "Colonel, I want to compliment you on that Reg-iment; I do not believe 
a better reg-iment exists." Tliat was awfully strong- from a Major General, and no time 
was lost in reporting- the great compliment. Next day he was still at Brigade Head- 
cpiarters, and in the afternoon, while lazily g-azing up the road, he noticed a trim looking 
company swin^r out of the Kelly Field and come down towards Headquarters, with the 
marching swing of a veteran comjiany. The thought passed through his mind that it was 
probably one of the Regular Army details left on provost work, leaving for Tampa, when 
the_v made a beautiful turn and came right in to Headquarters, reporting as Company I, 
Third Wisconsin, detailed as special guard for General Burt. It was good to see the 
look of happiness on Lieutenant Swift's^face, as Captain Newton and Lieutenant Smith 




"I'ASS IN Ki:\Ii:W O.N Kra.LV 1II;LIi -CHICKAMAVGA. 

being in Chattanooga when tlie order came. Hector had charge of the Company, and rig-ht 
well he handled it. 

Very shortly Compan3' I had a new street in a beautiful location, and a very easy 
time we looked for, as we were relieved from all drills and other duties, except to furnish 
a few men as guards for the (ieneral. and look after his horses. 

It proved to be a fine experience, as the General, though strict and soldierly in the 
daytime, nearlj- always spent the evening with us in our own street, very often bringing 
liis staff oflicers. Barker and the boys sang. Lieutenant Burt, who was on his father's 
stafT, ])layed the banjo and also sang. The General told stories of his interesting life, 
and gave his views on the "good Anierican," especially impressing- on the boys the im- 
]iortance of learning the niitional songs. Harry Howell, our "star" bugler, made quite 
a hit with the (ieneral by telegraphing- messages with the bugle, something which General 
Burt was working out at the time, and was very much interested in. B. J. Kinnie gave 
many of his charming Swedish dialect impersonations, which the General heartily en- 



jo_ved. And alto,i;-ether "twas very pleasant. When, alas, an (ink-r caim- Iransleirin^'- 
General Burt to Tampa, we g'^'i'in back to our Reyiment. 

The Private was sick for a couple of days in his tent at Ceneral Hurt's Headcpiar- 
ters — just a little summer complaint -tlie only days he missed from res^^ular worU durinf,-- 
the campaig-n. 

Durinj,'- a sham battle, Caj^tain Newton killed d. quail with his sword and lirouj;lit it 
back, which tasted better tlian anything The Private liad ever eaten. 

Company I soon g-ot into the regular regimental work, and alter all it seemed good to 
get into the "'push" and take chances with the rest of the boys. That we were eible to 
hold our end up, was demonstrated very shortly by the selection of Com])any I as "escort 
to the colors,'" upon Colonel Patton's arrival with the new stand, and tlu-ir jiresentation 
to the Regiment. It was a beautiful ceremony' and we did it up in i)r(iprr ->ha])c. 'Twas 




GKNERAL BUKT "IN THE HANDS OF HIS FKIENDS. " 
COMPANY I AT HEADOUAKTKKS — CHICKAMAUOA. 

a great compliment to Captain Newton and his Lieutenants, Smith and Swift. Company I 
being the youngest company in the Regiment. 

While at Brigade Headquarters, Captain Newton was appointed Provost Marshal. 
Another great "swell up" for us. He held the position under three Brigadier Generals, 
which was conclusive evidence that he was the man for the place, finally he was ordered 
back to us as we were about to leave for Charleston, as he was threatened with typhoid 
fever, which a few days later developed into a very bad case. 

Chickamauga was intensely interesting; the beautiful inonuments erected by the var- 
ious states marking the different positions of the troops are so placed that one can go over 
the entire line of battle with their aid. It was a never ceasing study for the boys during all 
the spare time they had. In one spot, a fine monument with an inscription showing that 
certain Northern troops held that position at 5 p. m., while a modest tablet along side 
proved that Southern troops were there at 5:20. And so on over the great battle field. 



The percentag-e of killed was something- awful. They were fine brave fig-hters on both 
sides. Many a time we thanked a kind fate that we didn't have to fight such men. The 
Private is always ready and willing to take oft" his hat to the men who fought on either 
side, and is su]iremely grateful that we are united as we never were before. No power 
on earth can whip us today! It was intensely interesting to get an ex- confederate who 
had taken part in the tight to go over the ground, point out where he was and where the 
"Yanks" were and it was very pleasant and bracing- to always hear a good word for 
the Wisconsin men who fought so well at Chickamauga. The Private could gain some 
conception of that awful battle when he reiilized that a force equal to two-thirds of our vast 
army of volunteers at (.'amp Thomas, were killed, wounded, or missing at the end of those 
two terrible days. 

After a heavy rain tlie boys were always busy looking up bullets, and many himdreds 




AT HOMi: I- ROM "OM.; TO THKKK P. M. — CHICKAMAUGA. 

of them our regiment found. It seenied like a dream to find them, and to know that our 
Colonel Moore had fought on the Northern and Colonel Castleman, of the First Kentucky. 
had fought on the Southern side, and here we were brigaded together and the best of 
friends. 

We were very sorry to lose tlir Kentuckians. as their equijin-ient was not all ready when 
the orders came for Cuba, but we met them later on in Porto Rict) and gave each other 
mutual 3'ells of recogniticpu. 

The Third was vaccinated at Chickamauga, and for some time there was a great 
variety of aches and pains about. We had a few very bad cases in Company I, one in 
particular Heim.street, a fine fellow, having a terrible time, his arm swelling so badly 
that we liad to leave him in the hospital, from where he was sent on to other hospitals, 
taken down witli typhoid, and afterwards with rheumatism, eventually g-etting- back to 
us after we returned froni Porto Rico. Colonel Moore was very considerate during- our 
sore arm s]icll, and we did very little drilling. The Colonel showed excellent judgment 



in all our work at Chickamaug-a, g-ettiiif,'- us out in tlu- wihkIs as niucli as i^Dssihle, and out 
of the mid-day sun at all times, if it could be dune. 

"We had some very fine concerts by the Third Band, assisted by talent fn.in the \ari..us 
companies, which helped wonderfully to keep up the men's sjiirits. One of the most 
inspiring- and touching- incidents occurred al'ler the boys liad (inislicd tlie prog-ramme of 
fun the first nig-ht: Colonel Moore asked them if they would, as a fitting {,a)od-night, 
repeat the Lord's Prayer. To see each man of the Reg-iment g-o down on one knee, and 
in softened tones repeat that beautiful petition, while the Southern moonlight filtered 
throug-h the trees and rested as lig-htly and tenderly as a mother's kiss on the bowed 
heads of the men and the splendid monuments erected to tJieir fatliers. gave The Private 






THE BLUK AND THE GRAY. WHERp: A BRAVK CON EEDERATE 

OFFICER FELL. — CHICKAMAUGA. 

a most perfect feeling- of confidence, and trust, and hope, for his Regiment and his Country. 

The Canteen was a pleasure and help, where excess was not permitted, opening- after 
morning drill, and closing about 9 p. m. ; the profit being divided among the companies, 
beer only being sold, and that kept cool and refreshing. "Twas strange the Commissary 
Department could not do as well as the large breweries in delivering their goods. 

The blackberry season opened up while at Chickamaug-a. Three or four boj-s went 
outside the lines one afternoon, and in a couple of hours picked enoug-h for the Company 
to have a feast at supper. 

Mills came to Captain Newton one evening, saying he had run across some cavalry 



fellows killing- a pig- and made them divide with him. Could he bring- it into camp? Of 
course Captain Newton said "yes." Very shortly Munro appeared with half a porker 
under his arm, repeated the same story that Mills had told, and made the same request. 
So between them they had the whole pig-. 'Twas very evident the cavalry didn't have 
much to do with the killing-. 

A lieutenant who was Officer of Guard ordered Mills to rake a very large plat 
about the guard house as a slight punishment. The officer was a very serious young 





WISCONSIN, PAST .■VNI) PRESENT — CHICK AM.\UOA. 

man, and Mills, after working some time, saluted, and very gravely asked, "Shall I 
rake it all one way, Lieutenant?" 

Langevin, Mills and Clarity were in Chattanoog-a on a pass. Clarity was doing- his 
level best to get them hcjme on time, but in spite of his endeavors, the trio landed in 
the guard house in attemi-)ting to get through the line that night. Next day poor Frank 
was dig-g-ing a sink, and lyangevin, who was Corjioral of the squad, was g-iving him the 
merry laugh. 

The boys got rather ga3' one night, and in some mysterious way a lantern was 
burning after "taps". Hearing footsteps, a blanket was hastily thrown over it, but 
unfortunately the beams shone from under the front board in the tent. Very sternly came 




<|f.,-;I-. ;- '•- a;. J ^^, . .■ * 

- ■ ^^^•..■^■^^g■■»^i.^ 4 ^. . 



CAPTAIN HARRY \V. NEWTON AS PROVOST MARSHAL — CHICKAMAUGA. 



AX 




FOUR OF THE KIGHT KIND"' — GENERAL BURT, CAPTAIN NEWTON, LIEUTENANT SMITH 
AND LIEUTENANT SWIFT — CHICKAMAUGA. WHERE COIILD YOU MATCH THEM?^ 




"the CANTEEN" — CHICKAMAUGA. "IT IS OWING TO THE HLESSING OF SAINT URBAN 
THAT WE HAVE IN STUTTGART MORE WINE THAN WATER." 



the question from Captain Newton, "What lij^-ht is that?" And very im*i.'klv came tin- 
answer "Captain, tliat's the lig-lit of other (la3's."" 

The Private went up to Lookout Mountain as Captain Newton's orderly, and enjcjyed 
one beautiful Sunday, and met many delig-htful Southerners. One handsome old {^-entlemen 
who had never shaken hands with a Northerner since the war, introduced himself at the 
Read House, Chattanooffa. Tears came to his fine eyes as he shook hands so heartil}', 
and all joined in heartfelt thanks that we wore able to ti-lit tor an undivided country 
once more. That Sunday on Lookout Mountain is one of the "bright spots." Those 
Southerners could not do too much, and Captain Newton and his orderly will never forj^et 
them. 

As nearly every state in the Union was represented at Ciiickamaui,'a, it was very 
interesting to take a stroll through Ohio, Indiana, Penns3dvania, New York, Maryland, 
Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, Kentucky, etc., or as many as one cared to call on of 
an evening. It became quite a fad to exchange the various state buttons, also, and if one 
state had a particularly good Canteen, it was pretty sure to be popular. 

The Third Wisconsin put up twelve pleasant canvas b£ith houses at Camp Thomas, 
one for each company. They were connected with the pipe line, and one could get a good 
shower bath at almost anv^ time. They were a great help. 

Three Non Corns got passes one lovely day and proceeded to Chattanooga, where 
they enjoyed their holiday like school boys. Such a good time were they having it seemed 




THE THIRD WISCONSIN BATH HOUSES. 
WE WERE ALWAYS UP TO DATE. — CHICKAMAUGA. 

too bad to return at 6 o'clock, which the unreasonable ]iass called for, and so, being 
"foxy" (?) volunteers they stayed until 12 o'clock at night. All went well until they struck 
the guard line of their own regiment. Thej^ made a very strategic sneak on the guard; 
but alas, when success seemed assured a twig broke, and in a moment the sentinel was 
bellowing "Corporal of the Guard, No. 61" The three Non Coms beat a double quick 
retreat, and, after several narrow escapes from other guards, lay down under a protecting 
tree, posted a guard, and slept till daylight. They still had the "foxy" idea, so they 
leisurely picked flowers up to the regimental line and quietly slipped in to answer morn- 
ing roll call. Nine times out of ten it would work, but there was another bright man in 
our company in the person of Captain Newton, and he had ordered a roll call at dress 
parade the previous evening. So the trio were caught absent. Much to Sergeant Rus- 
sell's astonishment he was ordered to read the following: "Russell, Duff and Rossiter are 
deprived of town leave until further notice." And that was the last of Chattanooga for 
the "foxy" Non Coms. 

The First Kentucky's fondness for "craps" was very pronounced. On visiting their 
camp immediately after pay day, practically all the men not on duty could be found in 
little groups all over the grounds intensely interested in winning or losing at the festive 
"seven come 'leven." 

"Rastus, " our colored mascot, joined us in Chickamauga. He simply appeared on 




THE FINEST WE MET ERO:\I HARVPZY TO AIBOXITO — THIRD WIS. BAND — CHICKAMAUGA. 




THE BEST CAPTAIN AND SECOND Lli:r lENANT IN THE TIIIKM) WISCONSIN — CHICKAM Al'GA. 



the scene as thouffh he had been waitin;;- for us all his life. lU- uoiit tlin.ti;,'-]! the cain- 
paij,'Ti, and came home with us. 

One of the most beautiful sounds of Chick amautja was that of the SL-ntinels repeatiiif,'- 
the calls of the hours, and the "alls well" as it Hoated around the lines and was caufrht 
up and carried back and forth to the farthest end of the j,'reat camp and never were we 
so tired or hun-^-ry thiit "Taps" did not make us for«-ct all but the sinj^ailar purity and 
sadness of the soldiers' beiiutiful "j^-ood ni<j;-ht." 

The efiforts of the boys to enter into conversation witii the nice f4^irls wim were chap- 
eroned throug-h the Park, was very amusini;-. One younf,-- fellow who was out at t'loud 
Springs after water with the mule team, on seeing- a phaeton drive up and de]iosit a g-<H)d 
looking elderly lady, leaving a very pretty dark-eyed girl in the carriage, immediately 
took off his hat, and asked if he could not water the horse, which request was granted. 
The first pailful brought no encouragement, so he proceeded to get another, and at that 




"turn out the guard for" — "NEVKK mind the guard" — CHICKAMAI'GA. 



the dark-e3'ed one relented and thanked him very sweetly, en([uired about his State, and 
all that, and they had a very pleasant little visit. Even the alarmed chaperon, upon her 
return, was very kind, when she found out he was a "nice" young man. Thus it is seen 
that jierseverance is a great thing, and is sure to win, even in carrying water to horses; 
although the horse really did not care for the last pailful. This young man very much 
resembled "Bun" McLean. 

The inspector of the guard from Headquarters was generally known as "The Yellow 
Kid" from the fact that he appeared in the first Khaki uniform we met. From way down 
the guard line the message would be sent along the guard, "Look out for the Yellow 
Kid." He might have found many more "lapses of discipline" if it were not for that 
consjiicuous Khaki suit. It was whispered about that a swell lot of Chattanooga girls, 
who had heard of the title and forgotton it, but retained the idea, had addressed him as 
"The Golden Dog," and were ungallantly orderetl out of the camp. 




'won't VOU dink with us TO-DAV?"" — CHICKAMAUGA. 




THE THn<I) WISCONSIN- "I. OKI) GOD Ol' HOSTS BK WITH US YET" — CHICKAMAUGA. 



Our good and lovjible "Doc" Wilklow , wlio had liclped the hoys niucli witli kindiu-ss 
and medicine, was detailed for hospital work and assigned the undiniii ti< d task of 
of driving the iimbulance. "Doc" expostulatetl, saying, "Mj- father didn't send me to 
college four 3'ears to learn how to drive mules." Much as we loved him, the whole com- 
pany laughed until almost sick at the way "Doc" kicked. "Doc" insisted on bringing 
a cot into our tent, and one night while he was peacefully sleeping, The Private and 
George Coburn got well under the side, imd at a signal sent poor "Doc" flying up in the 
air. He landed on Herzog, who w-as snoring on the other side, and for a few minutes 
there was rare sport. Coburn and The Private nearly strangled trying to appear inno- 
cent, but finally roared. "Doc" grabbed his cot, spluttering "I'll go out and sleep in 
the street without anything over me, and I'll catch my death of cold, too." Just as he 
said that he fell over the front board of the tent, and cot and all turned a somersault. 




HECTOR IS READY FOR RINGGOLD — CHICKAMAUGA. 

Mills, who was on guard, came along and got a blanket for him, and the hard hearted 
wretches in the tent let him sleep out there all night. 

The recruits joined us in Chickamauga, and a fine lot of fellows they were. Lieutenant 
\V. H. Smith having been detailed to go home for them, taking Charley Newton with him 
as assistant. They set to work to learn the business at once, and made wonderful pro- 
gress. 

While on guard at the mule corral one calm lovely night, a most wonderful sound of 
cheering began in the distance, which grew nearer and louder and continued increasing 
until it seemed as though all the peoples of the earth had combined in one glad cheer— 
and soon it reached us, that wonderful story of Sampson's victory at Santiago. 

MARCH TO RINGGOLD. 

On July 5th, after many heart breaking recalls, we at last took up our march for 
Ringgold and Cuba, leaving poor Lieutenant Smith almost heart broken, to follow later on 
with the recruits. We left Bob Kelly, the most popular fellow in the company, very, very 




COMPANY I IS KKADY FOR CUBA — CHICKAMAUGA. 




'thf.y I'OMiici) liii-.iK ti;nts LIK1-; nil': akai;.-; and sh-icntlv stom-: away'"— chick/ 



sick, and "Doc" Wilklow and many others. No one can know, unless thej' have passed 
throuyh a similar experience, what an awful wrench it g'ave us to leave eill those f^'ixjtl 
fellows. The Private left his Shakesjieare with Bob, but still clunj^ to his little nieces 
Bible, and also his "Drill Ket;idations."' We can still see the bij; tears on lyimitenant 
Smith's cheeks, and Bob and "Doc" sittiiiL;- in an alnidsl disniantlcd tent, witii b(i\M-(l 
heads, unable to look up as the order " l-'orward, M:irch 1 " came. (_)ur march to Kinj;^;(jld 
was a hard one, but we we went throu^-^h all rig^ht. Poor Lieutenant Swift carried a ^un 
for one of the boys, who was not well, althoug-h he himself must have felt the bej^-in- 
ning of that awful typhoid even then. We got to Ringgold about darU -a beautiful even- 
ing — and about three hours later, went aboard the train ftir Charleston, S. C, and enjo3'ed 
the luxury of a sleeper after two months of mother earth. Next morning awoke in Atlanta, 
and on through a beautiful country and lovely day. A fine looking, gray haired ex-con- 
federate came aboard during the day, saying "If you all fight like \'oh dadies, you lick 




A SAMPLE LOT OF THE C.OOD I'-KLLOWS WE LEFT AT CAMP THOMAS. 

h out them Spaniards in no time, suh." We agreed with liini. All thn)ugh the day 

we were warmly received, particularly at Augusta. (t:i., and Aiken. S. C. 

BEAUTIFUL, HOSPITABLE CHARLESTON. 

That night we rolled into Charleston about 10 o'clock, and slept in the cars. Next 
morning were taken down to the cotton sheds and took up our quarters there. We suji- 
posed we were going at once with Miles to Santiago, but the usual delays occurred, and 
we stayed from day to day in those awful sheds. Miles getting away without us. Then 
the news of yellow fever came, and more delay. But at last came the glorious orders to 
embark for Porto Rico, and Miles, and action at the front. 

During the two weeks we were in Charleston the wondrous old city was a constant 
source of delight, in spite of the sheds, the travel rations and unreasonable marches, for 
we slept out on the docks on lumber piles often, and got many good meals up town. 

Many hours were spent in beautiful old historic St. Michael's church, with its silvery 



chimes, quaint church yard and peaceful interior. The Private never realized how very 
modern Superior was until he stepped into St. Michaels, where Georg-e Washing-ton, 
Lafayette, Cornwallis and Lee hiid all worshipped. The sexton, contrary to all prece- 
dent in the mind of The Private, was a fine g-entlemanly young- man, whose father and 
g-randfather had held the siime office, and who with much kindness explained many thing-s 
of interest concerning: St. Michael's part in the Revolution and the Civil War. 'Twas 
simply wonderful. And then to muse at night, while on guard, on Fort Sumter off in the 
distance, and listen to the hammering- on the Spanish prize "Rita," being made ready to 
take our boys to Cuba. 

The people of Charleston were exceedingly kind to us; they actually stopped us on the 
street and asked us to dinner and lunch, atid all that — tanned and with our blue flannel 
shirtsleeves rolled above our elbows, as we were. We can never forget the people of 
Charleston. 

We held our dress parade on Marion Square, in front of the statue of Calhoun, 




"THEY CERTAINLY WEKE CxOOD TO US. 
HEAUTIFUL, HOSPITAIiLE CHARLESTON, S. C, FROM ST. MICHAEL'S. 



])r<»bably tlie first dress parade of northern troops ever held in Charleston. The papers 
of the city sang our praises, and all wished we inight return through Charleston. 

We had a very unfortunate experience with two practice marches, which it seems 
hard to think any man with the slightest pretention to common sense, knowing the condi- 
tions existing, would ortler. Twelve men were packed in ice on the dock?, and about four 
men worked over each of them to keej) the life from going out, as a result of the first 
march. The second march was almost tis hiid. The Private was on guard the day of 
the first march. It made his blood boil to see those unfortunate fellows writhing in con- 
vulsions jind delirium, as thej' were brought on the dock to get all the air possible. The 
second march he took part in, but got as good breakfast as possible, cut oft" his flannel 
shirt sleeves at the shoulder, took nearly all the shells out of his belt, got a good night's 



sleep, and went throug-h all right. Those marches, if the conditions had been favorable, 
were uncalled for and useless, except as exercise, and that we were getting in company 
and regimental work in moderation, our Colonel being^ a practical man. But under the con- 
ditions existing- insufficient food, bad quarters, the hottest days in .Tuly in South Caro- 



lina — thev cannot be condemned too strongly. Kolla Long wa^ 



the Company I Ijoys 



who suffered badly, being delirious for hours, and saved only by good work. Oscar 
Heyer was another, who was game to the end, and insisti'd on guing out at dnss ])aiM(K-, 
where he fainted dead away at "Parade Rest." 

Unfortunately, the greatest hardships of the campaign were unnecessary. As soon 
as The Private got a taste of the commissary at Chickamaug'-a anil heard the "kicks" 
of the boys, he began investigating, and did so calmly, and with a fair regard for both 
sides of the question. He came to the conclusion that tlie wliole system was wrong; that 
incompetent men must be at head of it; that if there was not a great improvement, the 




OUR GUKST — BOB K?:LLY — AT THK COTTON SHEDS— C HAKLKSIOX. 

food would cause more sickness and death thim all other causes combined, and it did. 
Wisconsin took care of her men at Camp Harvey in the way which Americans should be 
taken care of. We were proud of our State, proud of Sco field and of Boardman. We 
did not have to drive every good, patriotic thought from the minds God had given us, and 
simply wonder like dumb brutes whether we were going to have enougli of anything we 
could eat for the next meal. Think of an American volunteer going hungry for weeks 
and weeks, in his own country, giving up a good iDsition. and going out with the finest 
intentions of doing his duty and accepting any necessary hardship without a murmur. 
A young man with an intellect capable of grasping both sides of this question, .ind think 
of his feelings when he knew that this blundering could lead to but one ending, and 
that was death, or a wrecked constitution for life, and all he had in the world was 
his health and brain. And the pity of it was, life sacrificed, constitution wrecked, un- 
necessarily. Do you wonder his blood boiled when he saw long articles from men who 
should be straining every nerve to right this wrong— asserting that the volunteers were 



themselves largely to blame, "They did not know how to take care of themselves," "They 
•jTori^-ed themselves with pie and lemonade," and all that. Possibly they did all of this. 
Men have been known to eat boot leg^s and dog's, and in rare cases, each other. But no 
one ever claimed 'twas done from choice; and if the volunteer gorged at times, he did so 
because he was riivenouslv' hungry. The Corporal, on one of those rare days when more 
than enougli rice was left for the guards, g-orged himself so that he did not regain his 
normal cumlition for two weeks, and he ne\er was a lover of rice. What was the explana- 
tion ? Star\ation. 

The Corporal can see no good reason why the TTnited States did not take care of the 




IlISroKlC ST. MICHAKl/S, CHAKLE.STON, S. C. 

Wisconsin troops as well as Wisconsin cared for them at Camji Harvey. In proporti^m 
to her size, Wisconsin's task was just as heavy. The explanation may ]iossibly be found 
in the fact that the State officers of the Guard knew tlieir l)usiness, and thiit Governor 
Scofield cut the Gordian knot of red ta])eism at Camp Harvey by assuming the responsi- 
bility of ordering necessities as for instance, several hundred pairs of shoes, and not 
waiting until the men had contracted i)neumonia. We never heard th^it the Governor had 
to pay for those shoes ]iersonally, but he had the horse sense and nerve to save men's lives 
by that prompt iict. If many other men in high places had followed his example on 
the food and other questions, many a fine young fellow would not be sleeping his last 
sleep today. 



(Extract from Evenintr Telegram, May 2, 1S')S, correspondence Cainj) Harvi«y, Wis.) 

"Colonel M. R. Doyon, who has char<,^eof the distribution of the ration daily >,^ives out 

the supplies for the day. This morninjc the boys started in on steak and coHee, with 

plenty of good bread and butter. P"or dinner the comjianies had roast beef, jwtatoes, 

cofifee, tomatoes, beans and onions. For supper the men had steak, and plenty of it." 

Pay the cook as large a salary as the captain, give him all ihe help necessary, feed 
the men on the best foods obtainable, as a first class hotel would, and as a business pro 
position it will more than pay in the r.xtuction of the hospital ami pension enormous 
expense. 

We are inclined to be a thoughtless people. We cannot tell how soon we may have 
to fight for our rights with a nation worthy of our steel, as Sjiain was not. And it seems 
as though every man of our company ought to make it his business to know that, if we do 
go out again, he will not have to blush for his country and himself, as he does when he 
remembers the long list of fine young fellows who were scattered along our route from 
Camp Thomas to Aibonita, Porto Rico, and knows in his heart that tlie food question was 
to blame for the greater part of it. And we pride ourselves on being a nation of business 
men. We who handled men's lives as we would never dream of successfully handling 
cattle. Let us pray that never again will such a disgrace come upon us. And already 
The Corporal is prowd to say that the men in the Philipines -those brave fellows who have 
done so much— are being better fed and taken care of, and perhaps we have learned our 
lesson for all time. God grant it may be so. 

One of the greatest sources of danger to the men's health was sleeping on the ground. 
There was no good reason why wooden floors could not have been supjiliod at Chicka- 
mauga and the greater part of the time in Porto Rico. 

Captain Newton was taken direct to St. Francis Xavier Hospital, upon our arrival in 
Charleston, suffering with a bad case of typhoid. On July 11th, that ideal young officer, 
Lieutenant Hector Swift, after a desperate effort to keep up and continue in command, 
was at last persuaded to go to the same hospital, suffering from the same disease. The 
Corporal worked about Hector that last afternoon, getting ice and bathing his face and 
head as he lay on his cot in that stifling warehouse, and about sundown accompanied 
him in the ambulance to the hospital, where after much coaxing of the good sisters, 
they kindly gave Hector a room adjoining Captain Newton's, who was in the dangerous 
ward. After Hector got into a spotless white bed, he seemed to revive somewhat. After 
checking up his belongings and impressing on the kind sister in charge that Hector was 
our pride, and nothing could be too good for him. The Corporal bade Hector good-night, 
which proved to be good-bye. As Hector realized that he was giving up his command, 
the big tears came to his e3'es and he said "I know I shall never see the Company 
again" — words which proved only too true, as he died on the 22nd, while we were at 
sea. They told us afterwards, that night after night, through the long, long hours, he, in 
his delirium, drilled Company I, nearly always bringing them tlown before the reviewing 
stand. His was a rare spirit, a beautiful soul, and there were few dry ej'es in Com- 
pany I as the news of his death was read to us by candle light outside Ponce, Porto Rico. 

Lieutenant Smith arrived on the 13th, with the recruits from Chickamau'^a, and was 
greeted with joy. 

One fine night The Corporal was on provost guard, way out at the end of a d>ck, 
performing the arduous task of guarding a freight car — listening to silvery St. Michael's 
chimes, gazing far out at Sumter, and musing on the dreaminess of it all ^ when softly a 
voice came from the end of the car, and the irrepressible Mills appeared with a delight- 
fully cool bottle of beer which hid been jiassed along the line of sentinels, Ethan Allen 
and Mills being the chief conspirators. The dreaminess of it all was at once changed to 
a charming reality. 

The Corporal's first experience with the splendid men of our navy was gained in 
Charleston, where we went aboard the new torpedo boat "Morris." Captain Fox, with 
fine courtesy, personally evplained the workings of the wonderful fighting machine. 
At that time the "Morris" carried the largest ti)rp3does afloat, and yet none of us even 
knew we possessed a "Morris." 

The citizens were very kind in "piloting" us about t > the different forts on Sullivan 




THK OBDAM-- "LFST W?: I'OKGET" — CHARLRSTON. S. C. 




COMPANY I BOYS ON THK OBPAM— "THF.Y MAY HAYK SKFN BKTTKK DAYS.' 



Island, etc. Wonderful improvements had been and are still heini; in.ide, and C'liarle^ton 
is today a splendidly fortified city. 

Salt water bathing- was enjoyeil iminensel.v at Cliarleston. sometimes in the .\tlantic 
and at other times in the harbor. 

THE OBDAM. 

"On the road tn Mandalay wlicro the llyiiiL;' lislu- plas."' 

At leni;-tli on the 20th came the gflad orders to g-o aboard the '"(Jbdam" No. 30 and jsin 
Miles at the front. The Charlestonians came down in thousands to bid us God speed, 
and simply lined the docks. It was a showerj^ evening-, but just as we started a beauti- 
ful rainbow appeared — a splendid omen for our voyage. We slept that night in llie outer 
harbor, and next morning were piloted out through the mines and by F.)rt Smnler and the 
other forts. The last message from our country was signaled to us from the fort, "Ke- 




OUR LAST VIEW OF OI'R "OWN CCnNTKKl'. 



lOKT SIMTICN, CHARLESTON. S. C. 



member the Maine." Our pilot was taken off by a darkey crew, and tlie last person we 
saw was a dear American girl, in a white duck suit, with a kodak, as she waved us 
good bye from the tug John Harlan. 

'Twas a beautiful day, but in sjiite of that many of the boys were sick. The Corporal 
being one of the fortunate ones who has never been sea sick, was placed in charge of a 
squad of 24 men to fill the water barrels with water and ice, and used up all the ice 
except for hospital purposes, the first day out. 

The Corporal sincerely wishes he could tell of a delightful trij) in those southern seas, 
with the flying fishes skimming about us. He loves the sea. The Obdam had been a 
good enough ship in her class; she was well officered; but the same blighting hand of 
ignorance, or worse, followed us as it had from the day we left Wisconsin. If the food 
and accommodations had been specially devised to weaken, discourage and kill men, he 
can hardly see how a more infernal plan could be arranged. Think of American soldiers 



^^i, 





I.A CKANDK DUCHKSSIC WITH GEN. KKNST AND THE SECOND WISCONSIN OF OUK BRIGADE 




THE COLUMBIA, OUK FIRST VISII OK l-KOM CHARLESTON TO PORTO KICO— NEAR PORTO RICO. 



f orced by huiit,^er to line up. row aUer row, and plead at \hr oflicers' cabins fi.r a "hand- 
out" and the officers passed out is niuoli a-, they eould, t(. tiieir credit be it said. 

The Corporal wishes he coukl forf,^ct tliose days on the "Obdam " Ho liates to 
remember that our .i,Teat country could b^jjuiltyof such an unnecessary, brutal sacrifice. 
As there is nearly always a ludicrous side to the most serious situation, scj it was 
that a most comical thing- happened on the "Obdam." Gus Hraue, a fine, bi|.r, i)owerful 
fellow and one of our best recruits, was feelini,^ m )>t terribly. UIl; and strou- .is he was, 
the food, or lack of food, was too much for him It w.is pitiful to see liim, and never a 
complaint would lie utter. At home in Superior lie wi^-ked about the docks as a "boss" 
stevedore, and that stirretl a fraternal t'eeling- in one of tiie ship's hands, who in some 
mysterious way managed to bring; Gus a steaming- liot dinner. For days (,u.s liad fasted, 
and as he lay there on the up[ier deck and with content and thankfulness enjoyed that 
first meal, we were all ylad to see the poor fellow able to eat .something at last. Just 
as he had taken the last mouthful, a most awful look of agony and des]>air came over ids 





THI<: MASSACHUSKTTS, SISTI':k of THK OREGON — Gl'ANICO. POKTO KICO. 

face. He made a brave strug-g-le, but was just able to crawl to the rail in time to part 
forever with the only meal he had from Charleston to Porto Rico. 

THE COLUMBIA. 

On the morning of the 2r)th the Columbia came racing around a Iieadland of Porto 
Rico and up along side of us with the information that General Miles had landed at 
Guanico the previous day and was waiting for us. She at once whirled about and started 
back to tell the Grande Duchesse, which was following- with the Second Wisconsin. The 
Columbia looked the embodiment of speed and nerve with her war paint on. Our troubles 
were put aside and all was interest and excitement. We at once changed our cour-^^e for 
Guanico. 

THE DIXIE. 

During- the nig-ht, while running off the coast, a blinding- searchlig-ht was turned on 
us, and without the slig-htest warning- we were gazing- speechlessly at a grim looking 




CUANICO, roKTO KICO, WHKKK \VP: MET "OUK" GICNEKAL MILF.S. 




' ^OM^^^^^WsSir 





"TAKK THK TKANSPOKTS TNI'O THK HAKBOR" — PONCP, POKTO, KICO. 



man of war's g-uns, aimed with terrible accuracy at our defenseless (^hdam. and the hail 
came "What ship is that?" After procurinj;- the information and inforininj,-- us in em- 
phatic lans^-uage that it was none of our particular business who they were, every one of 
their lights went out with a snap and they were seemingly swallowed up in the darkness. 
The Corporal was lying on the upper deck at the time and could hardly realize 'twas 
not a dream, it was all done so (juickly. Ivatcr on, wo found it was the Dixie whicli 
gave us such a scare. 

GUANICO, PORTO RICO. 

WE MEET GENERAL MILES. 

Next morning we reached Guanico, Porto Rico, a most beautiful little harbor, which 
looked for all the world like a lovely piece of stage setting, with tlie luxuriant foliage in 
brilliant colors, seeminglj' rising out of the still waters of the little baj', the hills ;ii)i)e;ir- 




THE PLAZA, PONCE, POKTO KICO— COMPANY I KIKST AMKKICAN TROOPS EVER THERE. 

ing one above the other in the most graceful lines, as though all arr.mged by the same 
master hand. 

We soon went into the harbor, passing the battleshii> Massachusetts like a grim 
watch-dog at the entrance, and a little later met that wonderful little fighter, the saucy 
Gloucester, also the Annapolis, Cincinnati and General Miles" transports. 

The Massachusetts fired a salute of thirteen guns for our General Wilson when he 
went aboard. 

WE ARE TO TAKE PONCE IN THE MORNING. 

In a short time we came out of the harbor and anchored. Soon the orders came that 
we were to take Ponce in the morning. Squads were assigned the non-commissioned 
officers; guns cleaned; one hundred rounds of ammunition and two days rations were 



issued, and with shelter tent, ]ionclio, h;iversack ;ind crinteen we were ready to go after 
the town. 

The Company I boys shaved that day, and that nif,^ht sang the old songs, and were 
apparentlj' as merry as ever. 

Lieutenant Smith came to The Corporal and told him in confidence that as nearly as 
he could find out at officers' meeting, the following was to be the plan of action: The 
Third and Second Wisconsin were to land under the guns of the Massachusetts, Glouces- 
ter, Cincinnati, Dixie, etc., the Third leading, and were to fight their way into Ponce, 
which was about two miles from the harbor. General Miles was to come around on the 
opposite side with other troops. 

Ponce wjis supposed to be protected by two thousand Spanish regulars, an unknown 
nmnber of volunteers, and was a citj' of forty thousand, so we evidently had a job on our 
hands with our Springfields. 

The Corporal thought it over very carefully, and wondered if his nerve would hold 
through it all. His people had been good fighters in the Civil War, and back of that also, 




THK SPANISH HAKKACKS, PONCF, PORTO KICO, WHKRE THE FLAG CAME FROM. 

and that gave him confidence. It seemed almost impossible to fully grasp the bewilder- 
ing thought that perhaps it was his last night on earth— his last night on earth? His 
brain refused to conceive such a thing. Why had he come way down these thousands of 
miles, young and strong and so much of that life which seemed so sweet before him, to 
find this brain-paralizing question confronting him: "How many Company I boys will 
answer the next roll call?" But at last the blood of his forefathers asserted itself. He 
came out to fight; there was but one straight path, that of honor and duty; he had a good 
squad, and he and that squad would be at the front all of the time; they would be in 
Ponce with the first man; if he was killed he only hoped he could get the man who killed 
him; but he was not going to be killed, and nothing could stop his squad or the Third 
Wisconsin. After his mind had thus clarified and settled a great feeling of blessed 
relief passed over him, and he thanked God that he doubted himself no more — and he 
never has from that night when he wrestled with the fear of not being worthy of his 
ancestors. He and Steck exchanged a few messages, to be delivered in case certain 



things happened, and llien, after asking a blessing from thr One whom u c iieglecl in 
happiness and always turn to in trouble, he went off into ;i deep sleep, waUing refreslied 
and calm at daylight. 

We steamed up to Ponce, armed and read}', and were met by the Annapolis with the 
charming orders "Take the transports into the harbor," whicli meant that the liarbor had 
surrendered. 

One of the tugs which entered witli us h;id a large banner upon w hicli s\ as painteil 
"Chicago Record. " Of course the Third Wisconsin cheered this exhibition of Cliicago 
push. When one is in Porto Rico, Chicago seems verj' dear to a Badger. 

We landed very shortly, going ashore in large lighters, and were met by a wildly 
excited and gesticulating crowd of Porto Ricans, who welcomed us with "Viva Amer- 
icano. " 

Companj' I at once took up its march to Ponce, accompanied by an ever increasing 




OUK PKIZK. 
THE SPANISH BARRACKS FLAG, PONCE. PORTO KICO. 

and joyful mob of Porto Ricans, who wanted to carry t>ur guns and make themselves 
generally useful and hospitable. We passed over a most beautiful road, lineil with palms 
and many cocoanut trees and pretty homes. We gave our good " Uh Rah, Rah, Wiscon- 
sin," which we never neglected. It was perfectly killing to liear tlie Porto Ricans try 
to imitate it, which some of them did quite well. 

We at last, after a hot march, arrived at the Main Plaza in the heart of the city, and 
the crush there was indescribable We finally had to form a guard line to prevent poor 
little Company I from being crushed by the too ardent enthusiasm of the native Porto 
Ricans. There was another side to this, however. Every door and window in the busi- 
ness district was barred, and most of the residences, also. Occasionally a lowering 
Spanish visage was seen, which gave one a hint of what the Spaniards would do if they 
had the power. The populace — the native Porto Rican — was with us in full force, how- 



ever, and as we were the first body uf American troops vvliich had ever occupied that 
plaza, their joy knew no bounds. 

Soon we took up our march for the Spanish Barracks, where Company' H of the Third 
Wisconsin had preceded us, they S'oing off to the ri<i;-ht when we came into the heart of 
the city. 

As we marched into the beautiful building- and under the "royal coat of arms" above 
the main entrance, it g-ave us a strangfe thrill to think of the hundreds of years the Span- 
iards had held it. And we were from the farthest point north of any troops in the cam 
paig-n. The lig-hts were still burning^, g-uns scattered about and food still on the fire, 
the Spaniards had left so hurriedly. The only living: thing- being a poor little white dog, 
who wandered about disconsolately and refused to have anything to do with us, for which 
The Corporal admired him. All the Spanish belonging'-s, except those wliich they had 




"MKSS CALL"" lOK COMPANY I NKAK PONCE, POKTO KICO. 

on, were still in ihe barracks, and man*' souvenirs of our occupation were kept. Within 
a short time Company I had found the Spanish barracks flag, the most important on the 
island, which the Spaniards had attempted to hide. The Corporal got a very fine 
machete, made in Toledo, Spain, which he carried in his roll to Aibonita, and over which 
he had a laughable experience at Coamo. 

Many fine Turkish towels and fine underwear, etc., disappeared about this time, 
and Company I rolls looked very nuich pulTod up when the boys left the barracks to rejoin 
the regiment outside Ponce. 

While occupying the barracks, the natives brought in many Spanish suspects, mak- 
ing very expressive gestures towards the throats of their prisoners, evidently expecting 
us to treat the Spaniards as the Spaniards had always treated the Porto Ricans. We 
finally were obliged to get out guards to protect the prisoners. 

The barracks was a beautiful building with a pleasant court, running water and all 



i 



that -painted a lovel,v cool cream Aud white. We were ■ obi i-^-ed to fcive it a thoroiif;h 
cleaning-, however, .is parts of the buildinj^- were in a Klthy condition. 

I'hat Hrst night we slept on the stone floor, which was not the nvjst ag-reeahle couch 
imaginable. '1 he Corporal spent several hours laughing at the boys talking in their sleep. 
Steck began the performance: "Now, easy there, boy— easy— drive easy I Oh my, what a 
rough road— what a rough road!" (3arl Newman then held the stage with: "Well, how 
do you expect a man to go on guard willi an empty stomach and a rusty gun?" .\ftcr 
th;it others chimed in until The Corporal drifted off into dreams, anil proiiably helped 
out the grand chorus of sleep talkers. 

Lieutenant Smith took The Corporal down town in search of a rcstaurcint, where he 
ate the first real ni'al since le^iving Charleston. It cost tifty-live cents for two mrals. 
including- a bottle of wine. The Porto Ricans were very friendlj, and The Corporal 
wishing to express his gratitude cried, "Vivi, Porto Rico, ''Americano!" and was im- 




COMPANV I AND COCOANUT TREES— NEAR PONCE, POKTO RICO. 

mediately embraced by the entire assemblage and almost smothered, while "Smithy" 
roared with joy. 

WE GO ON OUTPOST. 

After rejoining the regiment, we were ordered out on outpost work, but before going 
came to Ponce with the regiment on the 31st and held the Hrst dress parade ever held 
by United States troops in Porto Rico. We held it on the Spanish parade grounds, and 
it made our blood tingle to hear the dear old "Star Spangled Banner" under those strange 
conditions. 

We went into camp in our shelter, or "pup tents" as we called tliem, not having 

received our others. 

Outpost work, which began on August 1st, proved very interesting, and being by our- 
selves we had a better chance for food. An outpost is. as the name implies, an outside 
line of sentries as a protection against surprises, etc. In our case we went out in com- 



pan}- form and established a base from which to work. The company was then divided 
into sections under sergeants and squads under corporals, and spread out like a fan. 
The corporals with squads of three men formed what is known as Cossack posts on the 
extreme outer edg-e of this fan, within signaling- distance of each other. Each corporal 
then posted a man out about a hundred yards beyond, who was relieved every 
hour or so; the corporals' squad being relieved in turn about every four hours from the 
sergeants' post, which was back, say half way towards the handle of the fan, the captain 
or lieutenant being with the reserve at the handle, with a general supervision of the 

whole. 

One dark night, a Non Com was making the rounds on outpost work. As he 

stumbled over the rough ground, he was halted by Bergstrom and electrified by the ques- 
tion: "Corporal, how many times must I halt him before I shoot him?" Needless to say 
he made plenty of noise before approaching Bergstrom again. Later on, Bergstrom 




A COMPANY I OUTPOST — NKAR PONCE, POKTO KICO. 

was told to report to the mule corral, and after some little time returned with the unex- 
pected, if truthful, information tliat "the mule boss says I am ad fool and can't drive 

mules." We had lots of fun over it, and also over Mat Conroy's halting a corporal and 
ordering him to "advance personally with the countersign I" 

Colonel Moore gave the citizens of Ponce an object lesson in the "good roads move- 
ment" by ordering out the entire regiment, arming them with pick and shovel, marching 
them t(j the hill leading up to the Spanish hosjiital and putting the road, or street, in 
passable condition in a few hours. It was all treated as a huge joke by the regiment. 

Colonel San Martin, who was in charge of the Spanish troops at Ponce, was later on 
sentenced to death for his iiart in the affair. This sentence was commuted to life im- 
prisonment — a strong plea for Colonel San Martin being made by General Miles and 
Major General Brooke on the grounds of the utter hopelessness of San Martin's attempt- 
ing to hold out, as the city could be blown to pieces by the great guns of the Massachu- 
setts and the rest of the fleet, if our troops had failed to take it. 



We received our Krag--Jorf4-enson.s on the Sth in exch;in;,'-e l'<ir mir did friends, the 
Spring-fields — a liappy change. 

Doc Wilklow arrived in tlie most outlandish costume — a mixture of army, navy and 
civilian. He was accompanied b}' a Porto Rican valet. A record of Doc's experiences 
would require a special volume. 

Buckley and George Anderson, who had come from Charleston on {]\v ir;iii>poit Num- 
ber 21 with the mules, also arrived with a most awfid tale of woe, and a llrm resolve 
never to be tempted away from Company I again. The}' certainly were llic gauntest, 
mcst disreputable looking tramps imaginable. 

The day our Krags were issued to lis The Corjioral was on guard, there being about 
twenty-two men on his relief. The Krags loaded with ball cartridge, ami lie considered 
himself mighty lucky to escape being shot by our own men that night. 

In the evening orders came to march at daylight towards Coamo. Several hunuied 




COMPANY I ON THE MARCH—THK RIVKKS "CUT NO ICK" IN I'OKTO KICO. 

men were out on detail work, and coming in during the night, not one had the counter- 
sign. It was a continual cry of "corporal of the guard." Mat Conroy "held up" 
Colonel Moore, who said he had forgotten the password and wanted to know what he was 
going to do about it. Mat's answer was characteristic: "You will have to sthay right where 
you are." The Corporal took a hand in the performance then, although he could hardly 
keep his face straight. After the Colonel passed through, he told Mat he did the proper 
thing. 

Mat had plenty of trouble that night. A Red Cross man was going through on 
the run; Mat came to a charge, but the instincts of the policemen were too strong; he 
dropped his Krag, grabbed the Red Cross man by the back of the neck, saying "Hold 

on there young fellow; don't get too d fresh." The Corporal soothed Mat's feelings 

by taking the prisoner to the guard house, where explanations followed and all was 
well. 



THE MARCH TO JUAN DIAZ. 

We got little sleep that nij^ht, and early in the mornini;- started on our lon<4-, hot march. 
We got no dinner that lia}', and Company I did "rear guard" work all of the way. 

It seemed ratln r tough to liave to round uji some of the boys who were tired, but that 
is what we were there for. " Hans,'' the jolly big brewer of Company B, who was lagging 
up the long hill near Juan Diaz, became exasperated at The Corporal's jollying, and as 
the jierspiration streamed down his red face, exclaimed, "Mein Gott, why youdon'tget a 
rock unil hit me on de hett und finish de yob? " Hans was a fine fellow. He was an old 
national guardsman and came out "for the exercise " He got into the hospital and lost 
over a hundred pounds, and looked jierfectly ridiculous when he recovered. But he got 
the exercise all riiilit. 







1 


f 






i 






' ^ 







THE KEAL THING. 
LANCASTER'S UATTEKV IN ACTION NEAR COAMO, PORTO RICO. 

OUTPOST NEAR JUAN DIAZ. 

Within a short distance past Juan Diaz we went into camp, ami liefore we had time to 
get supper Company I was ordered out on outpost, where we dare not light a fire that 
night. We went up on some very beautiful hills, but beauty did not appeal to us very 
strongly just then. Tlie Corporal noticed next morning, however, that it was surpassingly 
lovely, with the cooing doves, and the valley below with a suggestion of "Lorna Doone" 
about it all, which probably brought Jolin Ridds' appetite to mind, for he proceeded to 
borrow Lieutenant Smith's revolver, and George Coburn and he started on a pig hunt. 
They located a nice little black fellow, which George shot in the leg, The Corporal shot 
in the nose, and Ole Landsvick settled with a i-ock. Tlie mother hog making a charge 
about that time, a dear little Sixteenth Pennsylvania boy, as he shinned up a low tree, 
gave forth the warning: "Boys, look out for an infuriated hog!" "Infuriated" was 
good. We had a dandy lunch oflF that pig. We had just finished when orders came to 
move. We marched until about supper time, and went into camp again. 



We had a kind of general regimontal siijiper tli.it iiii^lit, .nid It.iikrr, Tlii.in|)-.(iii .ind 
Penfound returning- with a big- pan of turn, i toes and liard t.ick lor u-. rl.iini.d to lia\<- stmn- 
bled and spilled about one-third of it. It liis always been a standini; joke as to wliethcr 
they ate it or not. The air certainly \\ as blue for a time. 

WE ARE TO TAKE COAMO IN THE MORNING. 

That nig-ht ammunition was issued. We were to take Coamo in the morning-. The 
principal obstacle being- a block house occupying a commanding po-ition up the valley. 
through which we were to pass, defended b.y a considerable foie ■ of Spaniard--, and then 
a few miles back of that a fight would probably be made in C<jamo. 

The Sixteenth Pennsylvania went around to the left tluring the night, in oriler to get 
in the rear of Coamo and cut otT the retreat on the Aibonito road. U.n\ they carried out 
that plan not a Spaniard would have escaped, l)ut "We all have our dull days," and they 
did not g-et iiroimd in time to complete a most perfect plan. 




THE REAL THING. 
LANCASTER'S BATTERY IN ACTION NEAR COAMO, I'OKTO, RICO. 

THE FIGHT AT COAMO. 

We started early in the morning- of Aug-ust 9th we of the Third Wisconsin in the 
centre; Troop A, New York Cavalry to the rigdit of us; Lancaster Battery to our left. 
and the Second Wisconsin on ihe extreme left. 

At exactly five minutes past seven the first shell from Lanca-ster's battery was tired. 
That first shot sent a most peculiar tingle up The Corporal's spinal column. It had 
seemed like a reg-ular bit of practice work up to that time, with our line of skirmishes out 
in front and General Wilson and General Ernst on a hill overlooking- the situation. 

A most perfect morning- and g-rand picture looking- up the beautiful valley. 

At the third shot the battery had the range and sent that blockhouse up in a cloud of 
smoke. Perhaps our artillery is "off" on equipment, but a battery that can slioot like 



those fellows wouUl be a bad proposition to go against with an_y old gun you might give 
them. The Corporal hereby salutes that battery. 

The Spaniards fired several ineflfcctual volleys from their Mausers, which passed 
harmlessly o\er our heads — Neil Munro requesting them to "Shoot low, shoot low." 

The Sjianiards at once retreated as we went forward. 

Colonel Moore called for a squad from Company I to go out as scouts. The following 
men of the first in line went out under Sergeant Christie: Privates Lindquist, Newman, 
Geo. Henry, Shroeder, Grace, Thompson. It might have been very dangerous work if 
the Spaniards had made a better stand, but it seemed as though every other man in the 
compan3' was disappointed at being left behind. 

About this time the most infernal racket began over to the left of Coamo, and we knew 
the Sixteenth Pennsylvania had "struck it," which they had, as they were coming over 
the brow of the hill near Coamo. The Spaniards had taken up a position in the rear of 




COMPANY I WAITINC, FOR LANCASTlCk'S KATTEKV TO FINISH ITS FINE WORK, COAMO, P. R. 

Coamo on the Aibonito road, where the Sixteenth should have been. They opened up a 
terrific but inaccurate fire on the Sixteenth, wounding about seven of our bo.ys. The 
Sixteenth, as soon as thej' located the Spaniards, who were as good as entrenched on 
that road, replied with a fire as terrific but better aimed, killing about a dozen, wound- 
ing as many more, and cajituring about one hundred and fifty. Major Martinez of the 
Spanisli troops made a gallant efiFort to hold his position, riding up and down his line 
like a madman, thereby making a target of himself, which soon brought a volley that 
pierced himself and Imrse in many places, after which all was over. This was the awful 
"Racketty, crack, crack,"' interspersed with the more sold "whang" of the volley, and 
coming so close together, 'twas almost a continuous roll. We certainly thought the Six- 
teenth had run into a deuce of a mess, and we went forward on the double quick, plung- 
ing through rivers and up and clown hills. The Corportil has a little horse shoe which 
he scooped up on the run as we beat the Second Wisconsin into Coamo, where, the Span- 



iards having- retreated, we raised the Tliinl Wisconsin fla;,^ and came u> "Present arms." 
Troop A, New York Cavalry, seemed to he a very fine lot of fellows, and they certainly 
were spoiling- for a fig-ht. 

We passed on and over the spot where tlie SpaniariU had m ide their stand, .ind Tlie 
Corporal g-ot his first sight of blood shed in battle. The Si)anish killed and w .unded 
and the Sixteenth wounded were carried into a "caminero" almost on tlie ground of the 
fight. It seemed like a dream to see the dead and woumU'd, tlic little poi.Uof blood on the 
road, theemnty Mauser shells scattered about, the big straw hats lymg around, telling 
their mute story — the dead horses, and over all the hot sun beating down. Large trees 
on the side of the road had been shot througli, and that at an estimated range of sixteen 
hundred yards. Our Krags are all rig-ht. 

The Corporal afterwards met two Spaniards wounded in tiiis a:tion wlio had been 
shot by the same bullet, one b:ing a little in the rear of the other 




A CAMINERO ON THK MILITARY ROAD, COAMO, PORTO RICO, WHKRIC 
WOUNDED WERE CARRIED AI'TER THE FIGHT. 



THi: KIM.iai AXIi 



COAMO. 

While passing- over the ground a Porto Rican handed The Corporal a Mauser taken 
from a dead Spaniard. Visions of that gun in West Superior passed through his mind, 
and when we camped about a mile farther on he proceeded to carve his name in the stock 
very carefully indeed. But alas, an order came from General Wilson to turn in all 
Spanish arms; and although we buried several very carefully, the fear of getting our 
officers in trouble caused us to obey the order -although some Mausers got home. The 
Corporal buckled his machete on under his clothes, running the blade d<.wn his trouser 
leg and the hilt up under his shirt, stood up in line while the tents were being searched 
and calmly gazed Colonel Moore in the eye while that fine officer explained the law in 
the case "as a court martial may direct." He went about stift' legged the balance of 
the day, stumbled over a tent rope and nearly jabbed the hilt through his ribs. The 
machete came home with him. 



On the nig-ht of the 10th, .liter supper, Company I was ordered to report at General 
Wilson's Division Headquarters, as special g-uard, so we took up our march, wondering 
whv in the deuce we were not sent for during the daytime. We quietly moved in, very 
few of us even putting up our pup tents, but sleeping on our ponchos. During the night 
those of us who were on guard and awake heard the delightful message repeated over the 
field telephone, "Press dispatches, St. Thomas. Peace Protocol, signed, Not Oliticial." 
The Corporal with the greatesb diiificulty suppressed a war whoop at the good news, and 
soon thereafter being relieved from guard, went to sleep, to be awakened by a steady 
downpour of rain. However, he rolled himself in his poncho, and went to sleep again, 
awakening in the morning to find nearly all the company standing up with their ponchos 
over them, for all tlie world like a herd of horses with their backs to the storm, one of 
the bo3's arising just then with tlie remark that "There was about three inches of water 
in his cellar and he would liave to get up." It stopped raining shortly and all was well 
as breakfast was brought to us from the regiment. 

We in all jirobably would have stayed some time had not Harry Briggs accidentally 




SPANISH I'K'ISONKKS TAKKN IN THK I'lCHT AT COAMO, PORTO KICO. 

shot the sole off Harr^-^ Sinking's shoe with a revolver, which, bj^ the way, resulted in an 
order confiscating all revolvers in the regiment. The timid officer in charge practically 
"fired" us back to the regiment, our first and only mishap as a companj^ 

We rested that day, and George Coburn, Jack Herzog, Will Coburn, RoUa Long and 
The Corporal explored the surrounding country for miles. They experimented on Roll a 
with all the strange varieties of fruit they found, and after noting with satisfaction that 
Rolla survived, then the rest would partake. It was perfectly agreeable to RoUa, as he 
was ever the most obliging boy in the company, and afraid of notliing that grew on trees, 
or vines, or earth. 

THE THIRD LOSES ITS FIRST MEN IN ACTION. 

Next day, the 12th, the battery went out in front to Aibonito Pass and shelled Asi- 
monte Mountain .ill the .ifternoon. It sounded exactly like the bombardment in "Secret 
Service." 

The Spaniards in returning the tire kilK'd Corixir.il vSw.inson, Company I>, and Pri- 



v;ite Vouj^-ht of L, wouiulocl Curiiur.il Yanko, t'omiiany L. and Private Huiioc. rompaiiv L. 
and wounded others — Company L,, Company M, C(jmpany I» and Comi)anv I'", 'J'liird 
Wisconsin, being- out there on outpost, and some of them worr in very dan^reroiis positions. 
The battery exhibited great bravery and skill in their work, and no words can he too 
strong- in praise of the nerve they displayed in taking up that position, practically e.vposeil 
to both artillery and Mauser fire and holding it the length of time they did. Tiiey lin;iliy 
retired after running out of ammunition, and the comjianies of our regiment on outpost 
helped cover their retreat. Young Lieutenant Haines of the battery w.'is wound. -d cpiite 
badly. 

We had a "call to arms" that day but were not ordered forward. 




ADIOS i;SI'AMil.A COAMO, I'OKTO KICO. 

THE FIRST BRIGADE'S FIGHTING BLOOD IS UP. 

That night the fighting blood of the brigade was uj) ami we were ordered to go after 
Aibonito Pass in the morning. It w^as undoubtedly tlie liardest position to take of tiie 
entire Spanish-American War, and we knew it. 

Ammunition and two days rations were issued and we were ready to start at daylight 
for the toughest job of our lives. We were resolved to take that mountain and pass, 
although not many of us might be left to tell about it. Colonel Moore that night told his 
officers "We will take that pass or there will be lots of room at mess for those who get 
back." 

As a little side light on the things boys talk ab.nit in the m )St serious and dangerous 
hours of their lives, The Corporal listened to conversations on both sides of his tent that 
night. One tent was having an earnest discussion lis to the various ways they best liked 
strawberries. And the other was loud in its praises of the charming acting of Julia 
Marlowe. It seemed as though those boys would make a good fight next day. 

The Corporal remembers distinctly the ration drawn that evening because of a picture 



in his mind's eye of ont'of the buys. While drawing rations for the fight "Evening Re- 
treat" was sounded and this particular bo\', who was on the ground stowing away his 
stufl", jumped to his feet as is customar\% with the following articles in his hands: Hat 
full of hardtack to overtlowing, two raw onions, one pint unground coffee, and two letters 
from home. And as the beautiful notes of "The Star Spangled Banner" floated out on 
the still evening air, the sentimental and practical sides of the soldier's life was never 
better illustrated. It will always remain in The Corporal's mind. 

THE PEACE PROTOCOL. 

THE "GOOD LUCK" OF THE CHARLESTON RAINBOW. 



When we awoke at da3'light next morning we found that news of the signing 
peace protocol had arrived, officially, and our fighting was over. 



if the 




CATIIOI.JC NIKS CARIXC, lOK WOfNDEI) SPANIARDS AT COAMO, POKTO RICO. 

It seemed as thougli the good luck of the Charleston rainbow had followed us through 
P(jrto Rico. 

Although his go;)d sense told him he ought to be most devoutly thankful, still there 
was a sneaking regret in The Cori)orars mind tliat we did not get another chance at those 
Spaniards tit Aibonito Pass. 

C(jmpany I went on outpost, way out on opposite side of Coamo, as there was a sus- 
picion the Spaniards might try a flank movement. At n\>on we were ordered to the front 
and then order countermanded, Major (xCorgc finally coming out and officially informing 
us that jieace was jiositively "a go." 

The Porto Ricans proceeded to get lovely "jags" on. We had lots of fun with them 
at a ford where thej' crossed and where our reserve was located. It was a beautiful spot, 
and a short di-stance from us was one of the finest natural shower baths; a cascade drop- 
ping about thirty feet, where one could stand under it and get the full benefit of its sledge 
hammer blows. It saved many of us from sick spells, 'twas such a great bracer. 



On the 14tli we went hack to the rej^nment, which hail iii.i\r,l ii<ai-.r A il.Miiit.,, and in 
sif,'-ht of the Spanish works. White llag-s were nu all outposts. 

On the 17th we ij.it our rei;ular tents^ first time shice leavinj,-- C'liickaiiiau-.i aiwl 
settled down for a long- spell of outpost and g-uard work. 

On the 18th The Corporal had Cossack post on top of the iiighest mountain in the 
neighborhood. Bob Grace, "Jersey" Frink and Walter Whipple were looking longingly 
at a fat calf, and at last he told them they had ))etter drive it .low n in the valley where 
the officers would not hear the shooting. JJob and "Jersey" cha-nl that calf for an hour, 
iinally getting it down in a deep gaily, and then a strange thing lia|ipened which made 
The Corporal think more of those boys than ever: Bob wouldn't sho it tlie calf while it 
was standing still, so threw a stone at it, and while it was on the lain made a beautiful 




THE THIRD WISCONSIN IN CAMP NEAR COAMO, POK TO KICO. 

shot through its head, and "Jersey" turned his back while its throat was being cut. We 
had calf's liver and plantains for dinner amd lived hig-h that da}'. 

On the 20th we practiced with our Krags on an improvised ritle range. 

DARK DAYS IN COAMO. 

On the 23d The Corporal has this memorandum in his diary: "Brigade and regi- 
mental hospitals out of diarrhijea and rheumatism medicines. Many men sick. Seems to 
be a malarial fever. Very weakening and hard to brace up against. Had touch myself; 
got brace and am all right, but sympathize with others.'" 

On the 26th Captain Newton arrived from Charlest<jn and was received with glailness. 

The Second Wisconsin left for home. 

From Aug-ust 15th on, the regiment rapidly declined in health, and soon the hos]iital 
tents seemed to take up almost as much room as the regiment. 



The following,'- fif,'-ures, while not official, were ^-athered from reliable sources and are 

ajiproximately correct: 

September 13th - September 19th— 

126 men sick in hospital. 138 men sick in hospital. 

200 men sick in quarters 413 men sick in quarters. 

128 men sick in other places. 148 men sick in other places. 

18 men left this day. 

454 12 men died in Porto Rico. 

729 
So many men were sick in quarters on account of scarcity of room in the hospital, 
and also because the hospitals had been run so badly that men had a horror of g"oing 
there, and we tried to keep them as long- as possible with us. The hospitals improved 
towards the end of the campaig-n verj' much. 




C()LONi;i, .MOOKK .AND Ki;GIM l';NTAL STAl'l'' Ol'' THIRD WISCONSIN AT COAMO, P. R. 

Comi)an3' I used the fiuid pro\ ided by the women of Superior in buying' milk, egfgfs, 
etc., for the weak, and put Steck on that special work, and many a poor fellow was saved 
to us in that way, and as a result of this good work (and thanks to those noble women 
who furnished the means to do this) Company I, at the last inspection in Coamo, had 
more men in line thtm an\- comjiany in the regiment, a record which we held from that 
time to Superior. 

LADIES OF COMPANY I. 

"On June 10, 1898, llirough the efforts of Mrs. E. Henry and Mr. Kirby Thomas, an 
invitation was extended to all Ihe mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts of the boys of 
Company I to meet at Terminal Hall for the iiurjiose of organization. Onl^' twelve or 
fifteen ladies responded to the call, and voted to hold a second meeting after a more thor- 
ough and widespread invitation. 

"At the second meeting held in the Kmpire lUock there were fiftj'-two ladies present. 



i 



Representatives of the Industrial brancli nf \hc W. K. r., aiming; wlnnii writ- indtlu-rs of 
boj's at the front, announced that their litllr \>^[ui\ li.id already undrrtakeii the wnk wliich 
the contemplated society had in view, and ur^od the combininj^- of forces under the old 
name and bj'-lavvs. This g-jive a reg^ular meeting jdace with all conveniences for the 
man3' Company I benefit entertainments in view. A vote was taken resultiuK^ in the ma- 
jority favoring- a joint organization with the Industrial branch. The first work clone l)y 
the ladies was a subscription taken at this meeting amounting to S47..^o, wliich was sent 
to Chickamauga for a chicken-pie banquet for Company I. 

"At the next regular meeting, held at Agen Hall, the following olllcers were elected, 
serving throughout the campaign: 

President — Mrs. H. H. Grace. Vice-President Lytlia A. Karnshaw. 

Secretary — Mrs. Frank C. Buckley. Treasurer -Mrs. (ieo. L. Herrick. 

"Following is a complete list of the members, g-athered from the signatures in the 
'Constitution and By-laws.' Mention should be made, however, of the several wh(j, 
from some reason, did not become members, but by their cheerful assistance in many 
wa3's helped us complete the work we had undertaken for the relief of the sick and sufl'er- 
ing ones, and the comfort of the well. 

OLIVK K. BlCKLKY. " 



Mrs 
Mis 
Mrs 

Mrs 



Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 

Mrs. 
Mrs. 



Mrs. Josie Palmer. 
Mrs. Huldah Strader. 

H. O. P^ield. 

Chas. E. Herzog. 

Geo. L. Rogers. 

Edith C. Macaulay. 
Mrs. W. J. Whipple. 
Mrs. Frank C. Buckley. 

Robert Kelly. 

Howard Thomas. 

Adaline Britton. 

C. P. White. 

Fred M. Williams. 

A. F. McKay. 
Mrs. P. E. Bradshaw. 
Mrs. H. O. Todd. 
Mrs. Lydia A. Earnshaw. 
Mrs. Walter K. Adams. 
Mrs. Altenburg. 
Mrs. Zachau. 
Mrs. Ralph Purdy. 
Mrs. Melville B. Coburn. 
Mrs. G. H. Giffin. 
Mrs. Geo. I. Lytle. 
Mrs. Frank D. Orr. 
Mrs. Emma R. Herrick. 
Mrs. Winnie E. Burdick. 
Mrs. Agnes A. Logee. 
Mrs. Ella E. Spence. 
Mrs. A. G. Hall. 
Mrs. Mary Fitzpatrick. 
Mrs. M. A. Orr. 



MEMBERSHIP ROLL. 

Mrs. Penfouml. 
Mrs. E. Henry. 
Mrs. Shimian. 
Mrs. Eva E. Carpeter, 



E. G. Johnson. 

J. Hej'er. 

R. R. Smith. 

M. A. Newton. 

H. H. Stewart. 

R. L. Hunter. 

Horace Hubbard. 

Van Leuvan. 

H. H. Grace. 

Nettie Davis. 

Wm. Yates. 

W. F. Wegner. 

J as. Bowey. 

E. Alexander. 
Mrs. Goodman. 
Mrs. B. Nelson. 
Mrs. T. G. Alvord. 

Hugh Russell. 

N. A. Williams. 

Harriet Shong. 

M. E. Morris. 

Matt J. Johnson. 
Mrs. A. R. Heitland. 
Mrs. E. B. Manwaring. 
Mrs. Belle Griffin. 
Mrs. Jas. H. Agen. 
Mrs. S. J. Anderson. 
Miss Blanche Herzog. 



Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. H. C 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 

Mrs. 



Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 
Mrs. 



Miss Annie Penfound. 
Miss Florence (ilasier. 
Miss Cora Fitzjiatrick. 
Miss Lila Henderson. 
Miss Margaret Howell. 
Miss Bertha r>ogee. 
Miss Saide K. Smith. 
Miss Wenonah Cox. 
Miss Josie Heyer. 
Miss Rio Newton. 
Miss Alice C. Christie. 
Miss Emma E. Hudson. 
Miss Zoa Cirace. 
Miss Grace Bradshaw. 
Miss Hettie (Jould. 
Miss Rose Tracy. 
Miss Minnie Hudson. 
Miss Clara Nelson. 
Miss Hilma Peterson 

(Mrs. Langevin). 
Miss Lillian B. Russell. 
xMiss Edith Weade. 
Miss .\llie L. Sjiring. 
Miss Hattie Conrad. 
Miss Mabel Kelly. 
Miss Laura Sj^ring. 
Miss Mary J. Anderson. 
Miss (xrace Rogers. 
Miss Dell Rogers. 
Miss Ella Duff. 
Miss Marian Banks. 
Miss Georgia Herzog. 



The following is an extract from a letter written by Sergeant G. W. Coburn, treas- 



CoAMO, PoKTo Rico, August 28th. 1898. 
Mrs. Olive Buckley, Sec. Ladies' Industrial Society, 

Superior, Wis. 
My Dear Mrs. Bucklky — 

Mrs. Lewis came down on the Obdam, arriving here Friday, the 2<.th. bringing with 
her the four drafts of ^5 each, the receipt of which I beg to acknowledge. 

This is, I assure you, a most welcome addition to our fund and brings the balance 

up to $120. 

We expend this money in purchasing milk, eggs, bread, etc.. for the men on our sick 
list, and for rice, sug-ar, cornmeal and groceries for the rest of the company. The addi- 



tion of these rations enables us to live quite well, and does more to keep the men in good 
health than anything else. 

The following is an extract from a letter written by Hospital Steward Cliff G. Howard 
at Coamo, Porto Rico, September 14th, 1898: 

"B3' the way, j^ou ladies of Superior can hardly realize what a God-send was the 
monej' j^ou sent the boys of Company I. I haven't the least doubt but that the nourish- 
ment bought by the money kept many of the boys out of the hospital. We have now about 
300 patients here, with some eighty or ninety nurses and a fine corps of surgeons. 

"I must close and get some sleep as I liave been on duty all night and it is nearly 
noon." 

Those weeks in Coamo from August 15th to September 24th, grew more dismal from 
da}' to da3' — the deaths and sickness increasing so fast that those of us who were not 
sick felt almost ashamed to laugh aloud in the presence of so much misery to our friends, 




OITK DICAK OLD M.\JOK GICORGE, A VETERAN OF TWO WARS — COAMO, PORTO RICO. 

although we finally became so hardened that nothing affected us very much. However, 
I am jn-oud to say that we, as a company, did everything in our power to assist each 
other, and the hardening I speak of weis simply a knowledge that each of us took the 
same chances, and we felt it were better to make the best of things, as gloom never helped 
■anyone to get well, and was very liable to make the rest sick; so we jollied each other 
as best we could. To illustrate this seeming hard-heartedness: Giffin, one of the best 
fellows that ever lived, had for years been "guyed," so to speak, with a standing joke, 
of which the burden was "Good-bye, Giffin " and it never failed to raise a la.igh against 
him. As poor Giffin was being carried off in an ambulance to the hospital. The Corporal 
one of his best friends, could not resist the temptation of calling out "Goodbye, Giffin," 
and the same old smile passed over the company, even poor Giffin joining in. 

To properly appreciate the proportions the hospital assumed towards the last, it took 
The Corporal a little over im hour to find one of the Company I boys whom he wished to 
visit. And to heiir the poor tyjilKjid patients at night in their delirium was a trying 



ordeal, and yet The Corporal had one of the lieartiest quiet lauf,'-hs whi-n i)«M)r sicU IJobhy 
Allen told him his troubles. Bobby was so weak he could simply lie in the position he 
was placed, and the mania of the two patients on either side of him was, as IJobby 
expressed it, "You see that fellow there, well he tries to steal every thinj^' from nie, and 
that fellow there spits on me." And Bobby looked up from his bi},'-, fine eyes so sorrow- 
fully that The Corporal nearly strang-led. Mills was visited, after iiassinj,'- between lonj^- 
rows of cots, and when his cot was reached, there was the irrepressible Huj^'h so weak he 
could hardly close his lips. Colonel Huling-s, who was f,''oin{^ home, as he saw Mills, 
said, "There is a poor fellow so far gone he would not know I was saj'in;,'- y-ood-bye to 
him." As the Colonel passed on. Mills g-lassy eyes stared u]i and he inumhU'd out "Who 
is thiit d chump thinks I'm so d far g-one?" 

Ethan Allen, who was a very sick man himself, seemed to get as much amusement 
out of the various manias of the other patients as a well man. The Corporal, who was 
visiting- him was about to bid him good night, when Ethan detained him, saj'ing: "Just 
wait a few minutes, Corporal, and see the fellow from the artillery across in that cot try 
to f.limb up the side of a transport." Sure enough, in a little while, the poor fellow began 
his imaginary climb— and how he did plead with the imaginary people not to hold him 
back. Ethan had them all timed, and knew just when they would begin; but sometimes 
a blanket was put up to curtain off a poor fellow's cot, and the l)oys knew his wander- 
ings were almost ended. 

O'Kelly of our tent, a most lovable, little, imaginative Irishman, who developed some 
new form of sickness every other day, and on the intervening day was out swiping eggs 
or some other luxury, came in the tent one night with five different kinds of pills from 
the hospital, and addressing himself to Billy Coburn, said: "Now, Billy, this one is 
for me heart, this for me head, this for the chills, this for the fever, ami this for mo 
stomach," and wMth that he swallowed the whole lot, coiled uji in his blanket and went 
to sleep. 

The expression of the boys' eyes gradually changed from the natural bright, joyous 
intelligent look, to that of a most pathetic, sorrowful, sadness, an almost fixed look of 
patience and trouble, as though the sad scenes through which they were passing had 
transferred a picture of the pity of it all to the eyes of the fine fellows who were doing 
their utmost to bring the regiment through with honor. It is a heartbreaking look to see 
in the eyes of your comrades. 

One of the saddest experiences of The Corporal happened while he was on Provost 
Guard in Coamo. He had just been informed of the death of Sumner Bartlett, of Eau 
Claire, which was the first intimation he received that his friend had even been sick. 
Procuring permission to attend "Sum's" funeral, while his own relief was off duty, he 
proceeded to the side of the road where the procession would pass, and there he found 
the delicate little bugler who was to sound "Taps" also waiting, as he had just come from 
the burial of one of our boys. His fine eyes filled with tears, his voice trembled, and the 
most heartbreaking look of sadness came over his face as he said, "Corporal, I've got to ask 
to be relieved soon, as this is killing me; I can hardly hold the bugle steady to make that 
last 'good night' for those poor boys. ' ' Soon the squad appeared with the artillery caisson, 
and dear old Sumner, with the flag he loved so well draped about him. We followed to 
the top of a beautiful but lonely hill, where at the last the caisson could not follow, and 
he was carried by his friends, and there where the tents of his regiment could be seen in 
the lovely vallev below, and the white flags of the Spanish outposts tar in the distance, 
the simple service was read, the last salute of honor fired by his sad, weary, hollow- 
cheeked comrades-just as the last rays of the departing sun lit up and rested caress- 
ingly on the poor tired bugler's beautiful face and left there a look which was not of this 
earth, the soul piercing notes of "Taps" being sounded for a friend wavered out on the 
still evening air. "After life's fitful dream is o'er, he sleeps well." 

The funerals became so frequent that the music of the regimental band was dispensed 
with on account of the depressing effect it had on the hospital patients. 

The cry of "mail" from the First Sergeant's tent, was always followed by a great 
rush from the other tents, and the intense look of expectancy followed by the expression 
of joy on the faces of the lucky ones, would most certainly have filled the writers hearts 



with thaiikfulnes.s, could they have stood on the outside of that crush for a few moments. 

Lieutenant W H. Smith was placed in command of Company F, Third Wisconsin, 
after Captain Newton's arrival. Company F officers all being- on the sick list. This was 
a well deserved compliment to a splendid officer and a thorough good fellow. He had 
charg-e of us from Charleston to the time of Captain Newton's arrival and handled us ably 
and well. A record which he continued with Company F, until their arrival in New 
York, when he rejoined us. 

Richmond Smith was appointed Second Lieutenant about September 15th, to fill the 
vacancy caused l)y the death of that noble young fellow, Lieutenant Hector R. Swift 
at Charleston. 

After we were in Coamo some time, we manufactured betls out of vines, and hardwood 
strips, and poles, and every conceivable material, and managed in some waj^ to get off 
the ground a foot or two. The Corporal read at some time of the Russian soldiers sleeping 
fiat on their backs, so he got five mahogany strips, laid his poncho over them, and then 




ASIMONTE MOUNTAIN— AIBONITO PASS — PORTO KICO. 
no YOU THINK OUR BRIGADE WOULD HAVE TAKEN IT ? 

his blanket, and he laid flat on his back and slept beautifully, night after night, for 
weeks, with never a nightmare, as he most certainly would have at home if he were to 
attempt such a position. 

The dews in Porto Rico are extremely heavy. The volunteer would often be obliged 
to sleep in the long grass when on guard, and when, after putting in his two hours, he 
returned to his blanket he found it positively soaked. He rolled himself up in that limp, 
wet covering and the wonder is that more rheumatism was not contracted. Here is where 
the good of wooden floors in guard tents would have been demonstrated, although, of 
course, on Cossack posts tents were out of the question. In the morning the moment the 
sun appeared it seemed really hotter than noon-day for the men in camp. The hot sun 
striking the heavy dew giving one the impression of a Turkish bath. 

Captain Paget, an attache of the British (rovernment, who was with us, was ver3^ 
popular with the men, i)articularl_y on account of his utter fearlessness, his desire to be 
at the front, and his charming way of identif^'ing himself with us by his expression at 



Aibonito, when the Spaniards were shelling'- the battery, wliioli was, "I believe they 
have got our range" as an exploding shell threw dust over him. 

Haverstick captured the only visible turkey in Cuamo, and thereby clinched his 
reputation as the "boss moocher" of the Comjiany. Many things may |)ass away but 
the memory of the delicious taste of that turkey will never. 

For a time, there was an order issued in Porto Rico, from heaihiuarters, that no 
soldier below the rank of a commissioned officer could enter a store it iiotel in I'l.amu. 
The ingenuity of the volunteer soon disjilayed itself by having tables brouglit out in the 
street and the meals served there. 

John Runnings was a very close second to Haverstick in the "moocher" line, and 
were it not for the physical advantage Haverstick had, in being able to see behind him. 
Runnings would have held first place. 

The mystery of "who swiped the bag of sugar from the commissary'.' "' may as well 
be placed to the credit of Billy Kemp. Hut what a row it caused, and wh<i but a genius 
would think of making syrup of it? 

It was amusing to notice the various unexpected powers which develojied in the men. 
For instance "Bud" Henderson, a tall athletic fellow and splendid soldier, with muscles 
like steel, and who at home was foreman for Shattuck & Hislop's livery, could shave The 
Corporal as well and with a touch as light as a professionjil barber. "Bob" Grace, a 
normal school young man, who was far from being of age, was a fine mule driver at Camp 
Thomas, where he gained his degree of M. D. Oliver Price, a very good clerk, became 
one of our best cooks. "Bobby" Allen, the telegraph editor of the "News Tribune," was 
known as our "prize orderly" and got all the "snaps." The sight of Ed. Shroeder, one 
of Spicer-Fanning's immaculate clerks, patiently leading his mules about for fresh grass, 
was one of the most "killing" things. 

Porto Rico is beautiful. Ever}' foot of the ground over which we passed seemed to be 
productive, and the very products we need — coffee, cocoanuts, sugiir, bananas, spices and 
seemingly everything expected of a tropical clime. The people are very imitative and 
bright, and apparently very good hearted. We were brought very close to their home life 
in our various details — the home ties of the better classes being verj' strong. To be sure, 
the centuries of misrule have left their mark. They are not our people yet. but they will 
be, and a beautiful Itttle gem of a state they will make. 

By reason of so many men being unfit for duty in our regiment the work of the well 
men became doubly hard in regard to guard work and details of all kinds. And when 
the Second Wisconsin left it became ahnost continuous, but no complaints were made. 
Anything which was necessary was never objected to The Corporal has been on guard, 
both regimental and provost, at Harvey; company guard on train: water guard, regi- 
mental, brigade, division, mule corral, police detail, waiter detail, sink detail, quar- 
ter-master's detail at Chickamauga; on regimental and provost guard and quarter- 
master's detail in Charleston; had water and ice detail on Obdam, and had charge of 
squads on company, battalion, regimental, brigade and division guards, rear guards. 
Cossack posts, water details, sink details, wood details, hospital tent details in Porto 
Rico; has stood in the cold, and the hot sun, in rain, and dew, and wind, dark nights 
and beautiful moonlight; in fact has guarded everything from mules to division generals, 
and has heard very few complaints from the men that were uncalled for. He marveled 
at the stoical patience of the men under hardships which were impossible to avoid. Dur- 
ing the hardest and hottest march made in Porto Rico, that of the Battle of Coamo, not a 
man fell out, not a complaint made. The nerve and determination of the men was beau- 
tiful to see; many of them men who should have been in the hospital even then. The great 
heroes of war are not all heard from in this world, but it is a grand thing to feel and 
know, way down in ones heart, that we had many hundreds of them in our regiment. 

''PIPE DREAMS/' 

"Pipe dreams" were mighty numerous about this time, mostly concerning our home- 
going. An argument on any conceivable subject under the sun could be had at any time 
of the day or night. No matter how much one had studied certain subjects or how i>osi- 
tive that he was right, someone was always ready to convince him that he knew absolutely 
nothine: about it. It seemed to be a habit the boys had acquired, for a fellow would argue 



b\- all the t,'-ods in the morning-, with Bucklej' for instance, that Buckley was wrong-, and 
in the afternoon might be found asserting- with strong and picturesque language the very 
thing- that he had fought so iiard in the morning. If Barker said it was a mile and a 
half to the bridge at Coamo, Thompson or Penfound would jirove conclusivelj' that it was 
5 feet and 8 inches farther; and if Kemp woke Sommerville up at 1 a. m. and it was 
raining steadily, Sommerville would swear it was 8 in the evening and that the moon 
was shining brightly. The arguments as to whether we could have taken Asimonte 
Mountain were hot and long, the miijority of the company claiming that our brigade 
could go clear through to San Juan if we were ordered, but the minority, headed by the 
aggressive Buckley, who nearly threw his arms out of their sockets with his forceful ges- 
tures, were just as positive we would be annihilated. Although, by the way, this same 
minority were among the most eager for the fight when we were ordered to take Aibonito 
Pass. 




THK SPO'l- WHERE THE THIRD WISCONSIN BOVS WERE KILLED 
NEAR AIBONITO PASS, PORTO RICO. 

BANGS DE COAMO. 

Lieutenant Smith tO(jk The Corporal to tho Banos de Coamo or Baths of Coamo for 
about three days. The Banos was a famous sulphur hot springs, and they had a Spanish 
imitation of a summer resort, which was great fun. The building is only two stories and 
rambles off in a disconnected way through banana, cocoanut and palm trees. One passes 
from the main office or reception room, which is enclosed mostly by bamboo curtains, 
through an apparently endless passage way, p^lved with red tiles, which makes so many 
turns you do not realize you are going down hill, until a lovely, sunshiny room is entered 
with all kinds of big wicker chairs inviting you to rest awhile. Another gallery leads 
off from this on both sides of which are the bath rooms. They certainly are most bene- 
ficial as Smithy was himself again in three days. Those three days were like a glimpse 
of Paradise after our experience. Very few guests there at the time and Smithy and his 



Corporal were treated as one of the family. One ni^^ht thej- ^:i\c tlicm iln- l'<irto Kicaii 
songs and dances, also brought (»ut cnu' of tiie original nuisical iiixtniiiunts of I'ortu 
Rico, which was treasured carefully'. The PvX-Mayor of San Juan, one of the guests, 
became imbued with the general "passing show" fever and gave a warm old dance also. 

The3' were verj' anxious to learn Englisli. Enrique, upon seeing a cow pass, almost 
paralized The Corporal with the question: '"Senor, what 3'ou call ze sistar to ze bull?" 
They were verj'^ fond of Smithj% who played Spanish monte with the lady of the house, 
and made her cry by telling her that the little boy would grow up to l)e an American 
"El Capitan." "Ernesto," wiio was an all around "bureau of information" and 
waiter, who had learned some English in St. Thomas, and looked like a piece of dried 
leather, was a constant source of fun. Smith}- delighted in making a whoj^ping statement 
in the dining room, upon which Ernesto would close his moull). draw his breath through 
his nose to the full capacity of his lungs, and then burst foitli witl> a full Hedged 
"Americano" oath. It was the most finished exhibition of astonishment iinagiu.il)lf. 
Then he would dart for a pencil and paper to have the statement for reference. 

An "Americano" bill of fare was gotton up, on which veal was ]>resenteil iu ;ui 
original form as "young heifer." This was Enrique's maiden effort. 

Our Musician, Harry Howell, while at the Banos de Coamo, was requested by tiie 
lady of the house to play the great national hymn. Harry in response, played everything 
from America to Yankee Doodle, without striking the national hymn the lady wished for. 
At last, a bright thought came to him and he started in on "A Hot Time in the Old 
Town Tonight," which was enthusiasticiilly received as the desired hymn antl encored 
again and again 

Company I got more or less amusement out of situations which it would seem ouglit 
to have the very opposite effect. One Sunday, while nearly the entire company were 
lying in tents taking an afternoon rest, a "call to the colonel" was sounded. Very 
soon it was known, a telegram had arrived from Major (xcneral Brooke at San Juan, 
with the information that a hurricane was about due and to prejiare for it. One I man 
announced " it can't get through Aibonito Pass without an order from General Ernst." 
Another, "turn out the guard to salute the hurricane." While still another growled out. 
"let her come: anything's better than this;" but not a single nan allowed the news to 
disturb liim the least bit. 

WE ARE ORDERED TO AIBONITO. 

CAPTAIN NEWTON IS TO BE "POOH BAH" OF THE DISTRICT. 

About September 22 Captain Newton received orders to take Comiiany I and occupy 
Aibonito. To please the Spanish troops there, and soften the blow to their allegeil honor 
it was mutually agreed that Company I was not to go into the town until the Spaniards 
had vacated. In order to receive the surrender, Captain Newton on the morning of Sep- 
tember 24 took The Corporal and a squad of four men, Munroe, Tom Conroy, Haver- 
stick and McNair, and at about 6 o'clock started for Aibonito ahead of the company. 
which followed a couple of hours later. The squ^id got to Aibonito about 10 — an uphill 
march all the way, as 'twas one of tlie highest points on the island. Captain Ne\vt()n 
left the squad on the outskirts, also all arms, and accompanied by an interpreter and his 
corporal, walked to the Alcalde's "place of worship," passing through about seven hun- 
dred tough looking Spanish soldiers on the way. Miserable looking fellows they were. 
ready to go back where they belonged, but with the ugly look of a mean dog in their eyes. 

Captain Newton was niet with much politeness by the Alcade and the Commandant. 
the latter a very resplendent individual with much gold lace and many stars, etc. The 
formalities of turning the town and district over to Captain Newton were gone through, 
the Commandant then going to the barracks, where he gave the Captain tlie keys, who 
ordered his corporal back after the squad, with a wink on the side to bring them through 
with a "snap." The Corporal had to go back through those Spaniards alone. He 
tried very hard to look unconcerned, as though it were his daily walk, but he felt most 
awfully lonesome without his Krag-Jorgenson, and he heaved a big sigh of relief when he 
struck'the squad once more. They at once made a "grand stand" march through the 
Spaniards to the barracks, Captain Newton turning over the keys to The Corporal, and 



ordering- him to post liis men and talvc possession. The kej's were just such big-, old keys 
as you would expect to find in a Spanish barracks, and The Corporal's first "official" 
act was to "swipe" the big-- key of the front door and put it out of harms way, as we 
would have no use for it an^diow, having a guard on at all times. This will be Captain 
Newton's first knowledg-e of his trusted corporal's duplicity, and as the Captain is way 
over in the Philijipines now, and knows very well that the only way the volunteer could 
gather souvenirs was to just naturally take them. The Corporal hopes to be forgiven; 
and by the way, if Captain Ohnstad of Menomonie happens to see this, "The Corporal" 
also wishes to confess that the machete which was "found" at Ponce, and which "The 
Corporal" was ordered to report to tlie quartermaster witli, came around by Superior, 
and from the merry twinkle in the Captain's eye at the time, nothing- else could have been 
expected. 

The Corporal felt as though he ought to go about shouting, "What ho, there? Bring 




I,IKUTENANT W. H. SMITH GOICS ON OUTPOST WITH COMPANY I, COAMO, POKTO KICO. 

fortli the prisoners," etc. But insteail of that, he simply made use of the historic remark 
of the Carolina governors. "It is a long time between drinks." The Corporal and his 
guards then occupied j^arcpiet seats in front of the barracks and waited expectantly for 
the curtain to go up. About twelve o'clock the Spanish troops formed in the main street, 
in column, and took up their long- march to San Juan and Spain, after holding Aibonito 
Pass for hundreds of years. And tread ing^ almost on their heels came our own gallant 
little Comjiany I, Third Wisconsin V^olunteers to represent our glorious country. A new 
era for Porto Kico. 

The barracks life was a treat after Coamo, iind soon we were on the riglit side of the 
natives and had a small army of kids to fetch milk and eggs. All one had to do was to 
yell "Tokio" or "Teodor" or whatever the name of his special kid, and the milk or eggs 
would be ready for breakfast. Tiien there was the "Traveller's Home" and the little 



I 



restaurants, and alto.ijrether we lived hi-li in ..nr town ..f Ailu.nil.,. aii.l wore iii.inarclis 
of all we surveyed. 

Captain Newton had absolute charj,-e of tlu> dislrict under ..rdcr^ fr.Mu tlir War De- 
partment, through Major General l^rooke. wliich s,,mr ..i the fresli regulars passing 
through with the artillery found out wlien tlu-y landctl in tho -nardhouse one night. They 
soon learned that we belonged to a regiment whirh was the equal ..f anything in the 
regular service, and our Captain, in point of military knowledge and ability to carry out 
any work assigned us, was inferior to no officer we met from Superior to Ailxmito. 

We bought much lace and fancy work, which the women of Aibonito are noted for; 
and nearly all had the big straw hats upon our ri-tnrn to Ponce: ^^ inan\-. in fa.t. ihat 
we were mistaken for a Spanish company at one iilace. 

Francisco joined the company on their march to Aibonito: his total l)elongings being 
an old pair of soldier's trousers and half a bottle of rum. We grew fond of him and he 
came home with us, where he is developing into a "good -Americano." 

THE TROOPS GO THROUGH TO SAN JUAN. 

The Sixteenth Pennsylvania reached Aibonito on the march to San .luan ..n Octo- 
ber 2d, the Third Wisconsin on the 3d, and also the different batteries. 

It was a very wise move, stringing those troops out in that manner. It gave the 
Porto Ricans a tangible ideas of our resources. They were particularly impressed with 
the artillery and many were the exclamations of "Ave Maria! Tlio big li.nsis and the 
big guns I " from the assembled crowds. 

Billy Coburn ordered chicken one night at the "Traveller's Home," and the obliging 
son of the house ran outside, from whence a terrible sciualling was heard. Soon lie ap- 
peared with a live rooster for Billy's inspection, and then darted into the l<itelicn, in a 
short time reappearing with the chicken served up in proper shape. 

While at Aibonito under the guidance of our Captain we lived well, and the companv 
got back into a semblance of its old National Guard form. We made up little jiarties when 
off dutj', hired the little native horses, and explored the surrounding country, some going 
as far as Cayey. It was great sport. One of the most beautiful views was obtained from 
the Spanish fortifications on top of Asimonte Mountain. Coamo. Juan Diaz, and even 
Ponce, could be seen, and the lovely Caribbean Sea, si)arkling in the sunshine as far as 
the eye could reach. 

George Cournoyer, whom we left in the hospital .it Coanio. had a very dangerous 
operation performed. As soon as he was able to hobble out lie was i>laced in Lieutenant 
Smith's charge, as were several others. While still as weak as a child, (Jeorge man- 
aged to drag himself over the long, hard road to Aibonito and rejoined us. We hardly 
knew which to appreciate most, the wonderful courage of Cournoyer or the good joke on 
" Smithy." 

At the "Traveller's Home," one morning a tine lool<ing oflicei" of the Sixteenth Penn- 
sylvania was awaiting patiently his breakfast. Each time the waiter, as he came to 
him, would utter the one word "Mas," which is Spanish for "more," thinking the ofhcer 
had already been waited on. After this had been repeated .several times, and no break- 
fast appearing, the otticer. with a charming salute, said "Oh yes, I've been to mass. 
I'd say I was an A. P. A. if you will only bring me some breakfast." 

THE TROOPS RETURN TO COAMO 

On October 4th the glorious news came that the troops uei-e ordered to turn back and 
take transports at Ponce for home. 

They passed through Aibonito on the .Sth. 6th and 7th in an awful rain storm, which 
seemed to have followed them on their march from Coamo and return. Poor fellows, we 
felt sorry for them, from our dry comfortable quarters — luckv Comjian}- I. We went 
down to the road in a body to see Lieutenant Smith pass with the remnant of his jioor 
little Company F, and we gave him the merry laugh first, and then cheered him. It was 
good to get a chance to "guy" Smithy a little, much as we liked him. 

Company I still remained, however, but on < )ctober 8th Comjiany K of the Fourth 
Ohio came to relieve us. 

On the 9th Company I of the Third Wisconsin and Company K of the Fourth (Jhio 



took part in a fliig- raising". The wonderful love and veneration for the flag is a quality 
which seems to be born in an American, and comes out startlingly at times. The fiag, 
just as it reached the highest point, through some accident dropped; an instinctive shudder 
passed through the company, and it seemed as though every man in line leaned forward 
to trj- to save it, as though it were his mother or sister or sweetheart whom he wished to 
save. A great sigh of relief went up as it was caught just in time. 

We went out and cut many coffee-wood canes to take home. This memorandum is 
in The Corporal's diary: "Raise flag. Pack knapsacks. Good time. "" 

OH, GLORIOUS DAY! 

On October 10th at 9 a. m. Company I ti^wk up its march for home — the entire inhab- 
itants of Aibonito coming out to bid us good-bye. The Alcalde presented Captain Newton 
with a set of resolutions, vote of thanks, etc. 'Twas a great contrast to the ''marble 




COMl'ANV I S NAIIKAI. SHOWER BAIH- 



ON OUTPOST NEAR COAMO, PORTO RICO. 

Thus did 



heart" that Captain Newton and his coriioral received ujion their entrance 
ComiKUiy I make friends of the Aibonitons. 

A squad of our valets, the Porto Kican boys, marched with us to Coamo, singing 
native songs, interspersed with our "Uh, Rah, Rah, Wisconsin." 

COAMO ONCE MORE. 

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING IN PORTO RICO, AN AMERICAN 
GIRL, IN A SHIRT WAIST. 

At Coamo we camju'd for the night in the opei ii house. 

That night some of the Red Cross girls came over from the hospital and played and 
sang for us. We ]iroduced Barker, our "sweet singer," who. fjy the way, having "re- 
tired," apjieared in his blanket. He siing- "Black-e3^ed Sue," "Caroline, " etc., and was 
ent]iusiasticall3' applauded by the girls, who presented him with a bouquet. 

Never tlid Tlie Corjioral so thoroughly ai>preciiite the immaculate beauty of a. shirt 



waist as when he gazed long-ing-ly on those lovely American (riris. (J.jd bless them all. 
Nothing on earth was ever so beautiful as those clear things in those fresh, c.h.1 shirt 
waists, after all the mud and rain and dirt of the Porto Kican campaign. 

If girls could stand the horrors of a camp at the front, what a blessing they wouM be 
in the hospitals. It makes The Corporal shiver, though, to think of the sightsa delicate, 
refined girl would see; and yet perhaps many of these awful features vv<.uld be eliminated 
if girls were present. He knows that the touch of a girl's baud would do bim more good 
at such a time than anything else in the world. And yet .it limes, when lie has seen some 
of the worst features of camp, he has felt that death would almost be preferable t<. having 
the girls he has known see such things. 

All honor to the Red Cross niu-se. 

We had arrived in Coamo about 1 p. m., .uid spent tlie balance of tiie day visiting 
about town and adding to our supply of canes autl other things which we were taking 
home from Aibonito. 



i 






1 *r 






I^^^^^M^ ^**'«-*^ 




3 



A COMPANY I SOUAD READY lOK "(■lAKI) MOfXT." COAMO, I'OKIO KICO. 



JUAN DIAZ AGAIN. 



Next morning at 6:30 we marched to Juan Diaz, arriving at 11 a. in., when we camped 
again in an opera house, repeating our Coama experience, except that we did not have 
the dear nurses to call on us. The following morning at 6:30 we marched to Ponce. 
While marching gaily towards Ponce, rejoicing in the knowledge that our trials were 
about over, we met an officer, who informed us that war had been declared between (Ger- 
many and the United States. For a moment all was silence, and then as from one man 
came the shout "All right; it's a bigger job, but we will lick "em just the same." We 
were never prouder of Company I thiin at that moment; and though the report fortunately 
proved false, everj' man thought it true, and was ready and willing t.i hark no tli<' Presi- 
dent to the finish. 



PONCE FOR THE LAST TIME. 

We arrived in Ponce eit 10:30 a. m. and found our dear old reg-iinent in camp on our old 
location outside Ponce. They were occupyinj,'- the tents of the Nineteenth Infantry, that 
re.^iment being- in g-arrison in Ponce. We found a company street and tents up, all in 
readiness for us, and at once proceeded to make ourselves at home, and rest up after our 
march. We had very little to do while waiting for our transport, as the regiment had 
but a small guard out, and we availed ourselves of many opportunities to visit Ponce, and 
tliis jiart of our experience was a good deal of a picnic. 

On October I7th the Forty-seventh New York, arrived in all their Brooklyn glory 
and although we had all the Spanish soldiers off Porto Rico by that time, they pro- 
ceeded to jiut out a guard of about one hundred men. On the night of the I7th some 
one put up a job on the "Brookies, '" as about 4 a. m. we were awakened by the "long 




A VRKV OLD CHl'KCH, IN COAMO, PORTO RICO. 
WHir.K ON "provost" we often slept on the CEMEN 1 !• LOOK Ol' THE CHURCH YARD. 

roll" and a regular fusilade which passed around their g-uard line Of course we were 
turned nut, luider arms, as were tlie cavalry and other troops in our vicinity, and for some 
time ni) one knew what was uj), Cajitain Newton laughingly suggesting- to Major George 
that we get back out of the range of the "Brookies' " Springfields and pick them off with 
our Krags. At last it developed tliat "twas a bad case of "rattles" on the part of the 
"Br(X)kies." 

Ex-Senator T. B. Mills arrived from Superior to look after his brother Hugh, who 
was still in hospitiil at Coamo. The Senator, as always, proved our good friend. 

The appearance of Ponce, witli its many Americans and air of activit_v, was a great 
contrast to that of its first occupation by us. And we felt riither proud of it, as though 
we of Wisconsin had acertain riglit to l)e there whicli these "late"" comers did not possess — 
we "veterans" who at Chickaniauga in June had been looking- up a map to find out 
where Porto Kico was. Even to lliis day intelligent j-yeople ask The Corporal if he isn't 



g-lad he g-ot back from the Philippines all ri-,-ht. An.l ,,iir nic-.- ,,1,1 ;,rentlein;m, just the 
other day, did not seem a bit surprised when infonno.l tli.it ut <li(l ii,,t take the transixirt 
at San Francisco for Porto Rio., hut ,it t'h.irlest,,n. South rarolina. "lOverv.nc is (picer, 
except thee and me, and sometimes 1 think tlu-i- is a little <nR'er." 

THE MANITOBA. 

On October 21st, after several "pipe lireaiiis,-' tlie linal -lad .,r,l.T.s cam.- to i)ack up 
and g-o aboard the transport — orders which were most cheerfully carried ,,ut. 

As we marched throug-h the city, leil by the remnants of our line Third Wisconsin 
band,, we were cheered mightily by our old friends of the First Kentucky and th.- NMne- 
teenth Infantry. The Third g-ot its marching- swing on and showed its same ..Id time 
nerve. We went aboard the Manitoba (now called the Logan), a fine shiji, where we 
were comfortably quartered. 




THE THIKD WISCONSIN AT CHURCH -COAMO, I'OKTO KICO~"jUST A l-EW OK fS LKKT." 

That night we lay in the harbor, and as The Corjioral was sent over the side to take 
charge of eighteen sacks of mail from Santiago, which was on a lighter, and stayed there 
until midnight, he had plenty of time to muse on the changes since we landed from the 
Obdam. As he gazed on Ponce and the beautiful Porto Rico, he thought of the blessing 
our coming would prove to the people, and how little the.v realized what it meant to them. 

Next day, October 22d, we sailed away for New York. We were well cared for on 
our return trip, and made a record breaking passage of four and one-half tlays. 

''OUR OWN COUNTREE." 

When we came in sight of the twinkling lights along the New Jer.sey shore, just at 
dusk of the evening of the 26th, a gre.it wave of exultation, and happiness, and joy of 
home coming swept over The Corporal, and he at last fully realized what love of country 
meant. 

It came to him very clearly that with all our faults, we were still heail and shoulders 



above all the nations of the earth; that we were destined to lead the world to a better, 
broader, higher life and that we were yet in our infancy. He could almost feel the heart 
beats and the wondrous life and strength of a power that seemed to be all about him, and 
he knew that we are in the hands of a higher than any visible power. God will bless 
our c luntry and keep us from going wrong. 

We were picki-d up by a pilot boat about dark. Next morning we were up at day 
lii;ht cheering and being cheered by everything in sight. And as fate would have it, 
while on our way up to where we came to anchor under the Statue of Liberty, we met 
the old Obdain going out and gave her our compliments. 

It did seem so good to see the wonderful life and activity all about us and to know 
tliat it was ours. 




DARK DAYS IN COAMO, PORTO RICO. 
HOSPITAL Sri;WAKD CLIKFOKD G. HOWARD AND JERRY MCCAVENY ON DUTY. 

Dear old Doc. Wilklow rejoined us in New York and we managed to keep him and 
take him home with u-. 

"Our friend in need" Go\crnor Scofield met vis. 

One of the pleasant inciilcnts of New York was the presentation to Adjutant Holwa3% 
by the regiment, of a fine sword and its belongings. He certainly was worthy of it. 

(Jur watchful State, arranged for our overcoats to meet us in New York, so we did 
not suffer from the cold very long. 

WEEHAWKEN. 

That afternoon we were taken from the protecting care of "the lady who welcomed 
MS back" — the Goddess of Liberty — and uji to Weehawken. (That name reminds "The 
Corporal " of the mule corral.) All tlie passing ferry boats and others, bidding us a 
joyous welcome. 

That night many of us slid down ropes to the dock and went over to New York. "We 



went to Martin's on IJroadway and most certainly li.ul an enjnyahk- mkmI. \Vc t....U in 
New York nntil daylight anil they very Uindly iiatl a tire on Uroaii way for which we 
thanked the mystified policeman. Tpon o'.ir return we were lield np by a sentry at the 
g-ang-way, for which we were prepared, and the names of W. J5. Banks, Rol)ert Kelly, L. 
E. Waterman, H. H. Grace, C. S. Starkweather and many (jther prominent Snperior 
men were taken down as belonging to Conijiany F, which was Smithy's company. \V<- 
went our way rejoicing and have never been able to find out how Smithy settled it . 

FROM NEW YORK TO CHICAGO. 

At 5 p. m. of the 28th we went aboard nice sleejiers on the West Sliore Koad and next 
morning had breakfast at Syracuse. 

When we reached Buffalo George Coburn, Jack Herzog, Doc Wicklow and The Cor 




THE "RKD cross" at THE FRONT~CO.\MO. POKTl) KMCO. 



poral went up to see the Iroquois Hotel, and succeeded in having such a good time that 
when they returned the last section of the regimental train was vanishing up the yard. 
It's a good thing to be lucky. The "good angel" was standing <m the spot, and this 
official told the boys to get on a switch engine, also standing there, and away they flew 
after the train. Soon the engineer signaled, which .stopped the regiment, and it really 
seemed as though every officer was on that rear platform. Of all the scientific roasts 
ever delivered. Captain Newton's was the smoothest, and the quartet were ordered to stay 
in their seats until they reached Superior. 

Next morning we breakfasted in Payne, Ohio. 

We arrived in Chicago about 5 p. m. that evening, and after a pleasant stop of a few 
hours went on our homeward wiiy. 



UH RAH, RAH, WISCONSIN. 

Next morning-, Oct. olst, we awoke in our own state, and our own people kept coming- 
stronger and stronger until the climax -was reached at Eau Claire, which was a surging 
mass of our friends, and where a delightful lunch was awaiting us. 

From here we went on our way alone to the farthest point north. 

At Chippewa Falls, and all the towns along the line, we were received with glad- 
ness. 

At Rice Lake we stopped and presented Mr. and Mrs. Swift with a beautiful floral 
tribute to poor Hector, whose last resting place was there. 

We were met at Spooner by a happy lot of Superiorites and given a fine dinner. 

SUPERIOR AT LAST. 

The g-reat and g^lorious ending was worthy of Superior. We arived at 4:30 p. m. 




\\-iii:km: \vk laid ouk boys to nkst, neak coamo, pokto KICO. 

The depot grduiuls were ])acked. The streets on the line of march to Maryland Hall 
were black with people. The decorations were splendiil. And it was well worth going 
through it all to get tiiat wonderful reception. 

We at la.st got to M iryland Hall, where the relatives and intimate friends of the com- 
pany received us with open arms and kisses and tears. 

We were nnistered out January ''th, 189'», and settled any little personal misunder- 
standings for g-<jod and all on that ilay. 

So many incidents come to mind it i.s iin])ossible to get them all in this little work. 
But it is hoped these pages will help to bring up hundreds of memories of our trip. 

We furnished at various times many good men as hospital nurses, among them Jere- 
miah McCaveny, Robert Grace, Herman Laffitte, Homer Purdy, Edward t) 'Kelly, Carl 
Elson, Herman Lockwood, J. M. SyUes and others. 

It is not intended in this record to mention individuals for special work, where all 



did so well, but there was one man who in his (iiiict ^-i-ntlemanly way did an innnensc- 
amount of g^ood, and that was Hospital Steward ClitTord <J. Howard. 

Seated about a table represent! Uf,"- "Old Glory," on April 28th, 1H"»<», the anniversary 
of our goin^^ away, we held a splendid bantpiet at the Wot SujH-rior Hotel; the menu of 
which was g-otten up descriptive of our trip — copies of which, beinj,'- sent todeneral Miles 
and General Jiurt, we received personal letters from both gentlemen tliankini^- us. We 
are to hold another of these "love feasts" on April 28th, 1900. at which time tliis little 
record is to make its "debut," claimini,'- but one virtue, the trutli. 

^^THEY FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT." 

Thomas Kiley, one of the brightest minds of the compan}-, contracted typlioid fe\er 
during- the latter days of the campaign, and witliin a few days after dur return w.is 
taken to St. Mary's Hospital, where after a long-, hard strug-gle to hold up, and in spite 
of the best of care, he passed away. We sent a squad to Chippewa Falls, where he 
was accorded a military funeral under the escort of Company I of that place. 

Frank Zachau, one of our best recruits died of spinal meninR-itis, and was accorded 
all the honors we could pay him. Our company Hag-N drajied in creju- were ag-ain called 
for to perform their sad office. 

Jose]-)h Morrisette, a fine fellow and model solaier, in the summer of 189'J went tn ti)e 
Philippines as a private, and was killed in his first battle. 

Many characteristics and fine traits of these men of ours come to The Corporal's 
mind, but the thought whicli seems the strongest is, each one of these men would lay ilown 
his life to save any man of Company I, and so the words of Father Murjihy of Chippewa 
Falls over Thomas Kiley come strongly to mind: "He has fought the good fight; he has 
kept the faith." 

COMPANY I MEN IN THE PHILIPPINES. 

Captain Harry W. Newton was appointed First Lieutenant and assigned to the 
Thirty-fourth United States Volunteers. Ujion his arrival in San Francisco he was 
]ilaced m command of a company, and upon arrival at Manila was made Battalion 
Adjutant. Shortly thereafter he was made Acting Adjutant General of the brig-ade. So 
our estimate of his ability is being proved. 

Second Lieutenant Richmond Smith is also in the Pliilii)pines as Second Lieutenant 
of Twelfth Infantry. 

Private Joe Morrisette, a fine, manly soldier and g-ooti fellnw, also enlisted, went to 
the Philippines, and was killed in his first battle. 

Braden, who left us in Milwaukee to join a South Dakota regiment as First Lieuten- 
ant, went to the Philippines and was promoted to a Majorship, was wounded in the knee, 
but recovered and is in command again, ami we are very proud of our Company I men 
who have done so well. 

Will McCabe, also one of our old members, is in the Philiiipines as Sergeant Major 
of his regiment. 

And just to show the material our privates were made of, Tim.>tliy Fit/gerald tookolT 
his corporal's stripes and went in on the ground lloor, and is also in the Philippines, 
and is now First Sergeant of his company. 



I 




THK KKY OF AIBONITO BARRACKS. 

A GOOD I.UCK HORSE SHOE FROM THF: FIGHT AT COAMO. 

A MACHETE, MADIC IN TOLICDO, SPAIN, AND "FOUND" IN THE SPANISH BARRACKS 

AT PONCE, AND THE SPANISH FLAG. 



SIDE TALKS ON PORTO RICO. 



While the country thruuj^h which we iiassetl from Ponce l(j Aihoiiito w.is ahnost a 
succession of hills and valleys, yet one did not j,a't the impression which he receives in 
our Lake Superior country, of much waste land. ( )n the contrary, tiu- very tops of the 
hig-hest hills or mountains were clothed with rich vegetation, and were apparently as pro- 
ductive as the lower lands, although undoubtedly sugar cane, for instance, could not be 
raised as it is in the valleys. 

One got the impression of there being^ a great deal of idle land, either llirougli lack 
of energj'^ or means to till it. but from inquiries made, the troul)li- was laid al the d<M)r of 
Spain's iniquitous system of tiixation; the natives claiming that no matter how hard they 
tried to get ahead in this world's goods, it would, in one form or another, be taken from 
them. One thing was certain: Not enough jieojile were working in Porto Rico to ever 
make a success of the island, from an American st^indpoint, even with all the advantJig'es 
of soil and climate. 

Although something has been said of the climate as regards the Turkish bath effect 
of the intense heat of the sun's rays striking those heavy, cold dews, yet it must be re- 
membered that this experience applies only to a large body of men supplied with the bare 
necessities of life, and subjected to the crudest conditions known to an American that of 
an army in camp in Porto Rico. The Corporal has no doubt but that the climate, where 
one was living surrounded by the ordinary comforts of a home life, would be considered 
delightful, although there was absolutely no recuperative jiower in the air of Porto Rico 
for The Corporal. That may be simply because he was a Northern man and loves the 
exhilarating, bracing air of Lake Superior and the North. His friend Enrique at the 
"Banos de Coamo" told him that December, January and February was another Para- 
dise, and no doubt that may be true — although the "Banos" has had its lovely tiled roof 
carried into the interior by a hurricane since thiit statement was made, and possibly 
Enrique accompanied it and is now in a position to give expert testimony on what con- 
stitutes Paradise in December, January and February. Well, we have our own little 
cyclones at home, even in irreproachable Wisconsin, so we cannot boast. 

As has been stated, we got very close to the home life of the Porto Rican. As a little 
instance illustrating the kindness of their hearts when properly treated: An old lady, 
living in a little hut near one of our outposts, pounded our coffee in her old wooden mortar, 
boiled it over the little charcoal fire, and did everything possible for us for several days, 
and poor as she and her daughters, Manuella and Eulalia, were, she refused any pay- 
ment, although we finally insisted on leaving part of our cofTee, etc., with her. The boys 
on that outpost will all bear glad testimony to this simple, kindly hosiiitality. We have 
often wished we could repay some of the kindness we received. 

The very last act of the proprietor of the "Traveller's Home" at Aibonito was that 
of sending The Corporal two loaves of bread and some "dulce cocoa" by the son of the 
house as we were marching by. 

It was The Corporal's good luck to be admitted to some of the so called higher or 
better class homes also, and the same uniform courtesy was extended there that we re- 
ceived from the old lady and Manuella and Eulalia in the little thatched hut on outpost, 
although, of course, the surroundings were more refined — the refreshment served usually 
being- a very superior quality of brandy. 

No such thing as breakfast was thought of by the Porto Ricans. A cup of coflFcc, a 



ciyarette, possiblj' a little toast or an egg- After we introduced our methods one might 
get a passable bre^lkfast if he knew how to go about it. The coffee was first burned 
black, then pounded in a wooden mortar until pulverized. It was either sipped in small 
tpiantities in its black liquid form as "Cafe Noir, " or diluted about half and half with 
cream or milk. It was not agreeable at first, but one acquired a liking for it in a short 
time. It affected The Corporal very much as wine would. 

Tlic lunch and dinner were somewhat along our line, bufno such thing as a roast, as 
we know it, could The Corpioral find, nor any appliance for roasting. Innumerable little 
stew pans, iind dishes for frying, and all that, but no broilers for broiling. Practically 
all the cooking was done by charcoal, but yet "they broiled not, neither did they roast." 

There was one great blot on Porto Rico. Like "Jim Bludso, " they usually had 
"One wife at Natchez under the hill, and another one down at Pike." But in spite of 
this, the home ties of the "really truly " family were very strong and beautiful. Possibly 




THK KNTKANCE TO THE BANDS DE COAMO, PORTO RICO. 

the affectionate custom of the father embracing the son at parting for a short time may 
have exaggerated this idea in The Corporal's mind, but at any rate it seemed good to 
l<jok ujKjn. 

Great numbers of the Porto Kicans gave one the impression that they were simply 
grown up children, with all a child's natural affection and trust, and it always seemed 
to The Corporal that we had assumed a great responsibility, and must be careful to live 
up to the promises made them by General Miles upon our landing, at which time we were 
instructed by orders from General Miles, through General Wilson, to treat Porto Rico as 
though it were one of our own States, to pay for everything we got, and be careful to 
foster mutual good feeling. This was the tenor of the order issued by General Wilson on 
the Obdam even before we landed. 

The Corporal is in favor of admitting Porto Rico as a State in the regular order of 



military rule, territorial and State {rovernnuMil. They may possibly have several janf,Mes 
at their elections for a time, but tiiat will do uo harm. As "David Harum" says, 
"A reasonable amount of fleas is ^iXK\ for a dof,^; tliey keej) him f'm hnKxlJn' on bcin' a 
do<if." And that will be the eflect of our election system in Port.. Kico. It will stir them 

up and i;i\o tlicm lots to think about. 

One must not forget that some very able and brij^lit business men are livinj,'- in Porto 
Rico. To be sure, many of them are more in sympathy with Sjiain and France than witli 
us, but we can chang-e all that easily if we try. 

The Corporal tried to view the whole Porto Rican situation in a very broad lij^-ht. but 
at times there came a rather strong- conviction that a wide g-ulf lay between us in tastes 
and feeling-s and thorough understanding of each other. This, of cour.se, has l)een cau.sed 
b\' the hundreds of years of misrule, and will, let us hope, die out naturally as we are 
brought closer together. 

While the priests and nuns of Porto Rico all seemed to be truly good and noble, and 
doing their utmost, yet one somehow got the feeling that there was very little true religion. 
The bodv was there but not the soul. This is simply an impression and maj' be <'i wnjiig 
one. And possibly a Porto Rican might form the s.ame opinion of us witli etjual justice. 

The little native children usually' go about absolutely naked the gre.ater jiart of the 
day. It was very amusing to us, and certainly nothing could be more harmless or inno- 
cent than the little bronzed rascals. One of the funniest things about them was the bal- 
loon shaped stomachs the}' all had. giving them the ridiculous appearance of little pulled 
up "brownies." Fortunately, they outgrew this "pneumatic efiect'' as they gaineil in 
years. They are expert swimmers and have some interesting water games: and they are 
certainly born gamblers, without any exaggeration. It would take a volume to describe 
the numberless games, from S]ianish Monte to pitching centavos at a njund hole in the 
ground. 

Of course smoking is universal, and "exjierf is the jimper title for the cigarette 

making. 

The art of drinking wine and brandy they have down to a science, and oonip.iratively 
little drunkenness was seen. 

Now wliat must or can The Corporal say of the Porto Rican ladies. All women are 
beautiful its only a question of degree — and of course the Porto Rican women, especially 
the y(jung women, all have beautiful eyes — black, black eyes, and masses of beautiful 
black, black hair, and when that much is said, drop the curtain. Now. an American 
girl with black, Ijlack eyes and masses of black, black hair would make herself so be- 
witching thiit all defects would be obliterated, because she has an intellect, a heart, 
a soul, an indescribable something above and beyond all other girls in the world. She 
is the highest development of all that is pure and beautiful, womanly and good and lov- 
able, that this old world has yet attained, and it is hardly fair to the Porto Rican w<jmen 
to make a comparison. The Corporal did see a girl in Aibonito with eyes so tleep and 
true, such a wonderful combination of hazel and gold iind black, that he simply st.KKl 
speechless and gazed spellbound, like a hypnotized being whose very soul was being 
drawn into those lovely, fathomless, liquid eyes, and she, as innocently as a fawn, gazed 
back, wondering, no doubt, what new species of lunatic "Americano"' it was. The Cor- 
poral doesn't know what color her hair was, or the shape of her mouth or nose, but those 
indescribable eyes are photographed on his memory forever. She was the f>nly one he 
met that at all compared with our girls at home; and it goes without saying, that there 
are several pairs of "our girls' " eyes photographed on his memory, beside whicli the 
beautiful Porto Rican's pale into insignificance. 

They have the toughest little breed of ponies, or horses .so called, and the finest, 
largest oxen, The Corporal has ever seen. It seemed to him that Porto Rico ought to be 
an Ideal place to raise horses and cattle- the size of the island, of course, being a limi- 
tation. 

The Corporal would not be surprised if the Porto Rican coffee gained a strong fol- 



lowing- in our countrj' as an after dinner coffee; and as the methods of cultivaiing- it are 
improved the demand will exceed the supply. 

The well known military road from Ponce to San Juan (about ninety miles) is almost 
a model, and the substantial masonry of the bridges and culverts is worthy of a little 
copying- on our part. 

Although many of the rivers had no bridges, and many a time we marched through 
tliem, which, if one had time to take oflf his shoes, was not much of a task, but if he did 
not, sore feet were liable to follow. These shallow streams rise very suddenly at times 
and become furious torrents. 

We lived very larg-ely on bread and milk in Porto Rico, when so situated that we 
could get it, bought, of course, with our own money. It was quite picturesque to see the 




COMPANY I COMES TO THE FRONT WITH MOKE MEN IN LINE THAN ANY OTHia-f COMPANY 
IN THE BRIGADE — COAMO, PORTO RICO. 

boys coming off guard at three or four o'clock in the morning-, at Aibonito, waiting around 
the old fashioned brick oven for the fresh bread for breakfast. The merry chase for milk 
began as soon as morning roll call was over. The natives first allowed the calves to 
extract their share according to mother nature's original plan, then the volunteer stood 
in line with his tin cup or bottle. I'he neitives also had an original way of delivering 
milk to their village customers by driving the gentle cow from door to door and milking 
the required amount. 

It was very amusing to see the variety of flags which was sprung on us when we 
arrived, and for some time afterwards. Most of the people seemed to think that if they 
got up some flag— any old flag, indeed, except Spain's— that it was a safeguard. A squad 
which was out after wood, and I am afraid were appropriating some tempting fence rails, 
were approached by an excited individual who was wildly waving the French flag. 



Whipple, who was with the squad, ^^a/od blankly at tiie lldf,-- and drawled out: "Old man. 
you really haven't got stars enough, and the stripes don't seem to run right, and really 
Canfield needs the wood to get dinner." S.) that "dii)lomatic" incident was eluse.l and 
dinner was read}' on time. 

Richard Harding- Davis and Stephen Crane were with us at Co;im<.. Some of th.- 
boys got into quite an argument as to whether it was Davis who was passing on the road 
at the time. One of the boys took an original way of settling it by jumping up and call- 
ing "Hello, Davis!" That gentlemen wheeled about in his saddle and 1 owetl to his sup- 
posed friend— and there was no further argument. Davis, by the way, has written some 
verj' fine things on the Porto Rican campaign. 

While on provost guard, Bud Henderson and The Corporal were seated on tiie door 
steps of the old church at Coamo enjoying their breakfa.st, when quickly and silently 
four natives appeared around the corner, bearing on their shoulders a coHin, which they 
unceremoniously dropped in the midst of the breakfast, while they rang the bell for the 
"Padre." That was too much for even the volunteers, and they gatliered up their be- 
longings and found another breakfast jilace in short order. 

Tarantulas and centipedes were very numerous, and the lirst night we were with tlie 
regiment outside Ponce, Fred Weade discovered a full grown centipede in his |)uii tent. 
Fred, who had a perfect horror of anything of the kind, climbed up on a large box in the 
company street and attempted to sleep the rest of the nig-ht there. No jiersuasion on 
our part could induce him to sleep in his tent. It was before we had received our blan- 
kets from the Obdam, so poor Fred passed a miserable night. 

Fleas were an almost constant source of annoyance in Porto Rico, and as sleeji tle>- 
troyers they were a success. At Brigade Headquarters, Coamo, one very wet nig-ht The 
Corporal, wrapped in his poncho, was putting in the weary hours of his relief and trying 
to keep his Krag-Jorg-enson dr}', when, much to his surpri.se, a form came forth from a 
pup tent, on all fours, and regardless of the rain divested him.self of all clothing ami pro- 
ceeded to give those clothes a most thorougli shaking, after which he dressed and crejit 
back to sleep. Not a word was spoken on cither side, but it expressed perfectly the 
nuisance fleas were to the volunteer, and in tliis particular case to Sergeant Russell. 

While on outpost near Ponce, the soinid of boys singing, or chanting, a sort of hj'mn 
was borne to our ears for several da3's. It came from up the valley antl reminded one 
just a little of St. Michael's chimes in Charleston. Becoming curious, .some of our boys 
followed the .sounds one day and found a native ploughing- with eight fine oxen, and 
l>erched on the ox bows were three little boys, industriousl}- singing to the oxen. It seems 
the music had a quieting effect. One little fellow would begin; the second wouhl take it 
up where the first left oft", and then the third carried it along. It was all very unicjue. 

We learned a working smattering of Spanish in a short time, much sooner than they 
acquired an equal knowledge of our language, possibly because Spanish is not a difticult 
language to pick up, and also, necessity, that sharp teacher, drove us forward. 

It seemed strange that one could yell or shout at a Porto Rican to stop, without any 
effect, while if you but knew how to make the little hissing .sound— "tsc"— like escaping 
steam for instance, he would stop in his tracks as though he had been shot. 

We were a profane lot; it was in the air, and with the strange jierversity of human 
nature the Porto Rican kids "caught on" to that part of our vocabulary first of all. 
One little brown imp, upon being ordered to "Get away from here," retorted: "No com - 
jirehend 'g-et away', comprehend "Get to h out of here I'' 

The money was altogether silver and copper, and for a long time we exchanged our 
money for theirs at the rate of "two for one" as we called it, they being particularly 
anxious to get our paper money for their silver. As often as The Corporal had heard the 
expression -'Didn't know the war was over" applied to various per.sons. he never expected 
to see such a practical illustration of it as the Porto Ricans gave, by accepting a lot of 
Confederate money, brought down from Charleston by a numler of our boys, who seemed 
to have bid good-bye to conscience as they left the shores of the Fnited States. Thus did 



we assume part of "the white man's burden" by relieving- the brown man of his surplus 
silver. This was carrying "all's fair in love and war" to an extreme, and as we looked 
upon the unfortunate young- head of AlEonzo XIII on the silver pesos, we felt as though it 
was taking a pretty mean advantage over a boy. 

The water in Porto Rico was, to the volunteer at least, a delusion. It bubbled up 
as clear and cold looking as crj'stal, but alas, upon drinking, it was lukewarm, insipid, 
and with hardly any thirst allaying qualities. We got a little comfort out of it by placing 
our canteens in the cold dews over night. And by the way, the people who are continually 
scolding about the American ice-water habit ought to go down to Porto Rico and try the 
clear, pure water without ice for a few weeks, and the wholesome Danish butter without 




A DELIGHTl- LI. SPO I A I 1111, HANGS DE COAMO, I'OK IC) KICU. 

ice, and the delicious Copenhagen or American beer without ice, and suddenly tliej' will 
realize what a luxury good plain ice is. We Americans do not know how well we are oft' 
until, to use a sUmg expression, "we go up against it." It was borne very strongly to 
the mind of The Corporal that the average American is surrounded by, ami enjoys more 
luxuries in his everyday life than lie really lias anv conception of, until some sucli exjieri- 
ence as ours opens his eyes. 

Two crying needs of Porto Rico stood out prominently. First and foremost, the intro- 
duction of a school system along our own good lines, and secondly the establishment of a 
modern system of sewerage. As these go hand in hand, our government can be trusted 
to care for Porto Rico in the two most important aids to a better civilization. 



1 



"TATTOO." 



Company I probably had as inan_v orii^'mal characters in its makni]) as any c<>inp.iiiy 
of the volunteers. Comiskey, or "Slats," uIki liail, accordinj^ Id liis own version, done 
the "box car route.'' In other words, "trainpotl it'" many times in his career, and wlio 
was a fun-l(wing-, careless, reckless, witty, s^ood soldier, was a tent-mate of Schimian. 
an educated, refined, church-g^oer, and member of the Y. M. C. A., ami they {^ot on beau- 
tifully together. This is simply used as a comparison, to illustrate the fine feeling- of 
comradeship which existed so strong-ly in tlie company. Wc had many friends whom we 
liked to visit in the re<^iment, but alwaj-s th it tine, almost family feeling- w a- tliere, and 
we could liave as good a time ten miles froai the regimeat as with it. 

Every walk of life was representeil. but all were on a |ierfect basis of equality in 
Company I, and a greater number of good fellows, wliicli was the test, it woulil be hard 
to assemble. 

Among the various irritating- little things of the late camp ligii, the innumerable 
waits and recalls after we had been ordered and were read}- to make a new move, stand 
out prominently as the g-reate.st nerve destroyers and disapi-)ointments. The Corporal can 
remember no movement until we joined General Miles in Porto Kico, except in comjiany 
work, when this idiotic, vacillating, changing of orders did not take place. What a ter- 
rible strain it was on a man's confidence in the ''powers that be." At Chickamauga we 
even went so far as to take our tents down and pack theni. and were lined up in marching 
order, when one of several recalls sounded, and we wearily unloaded. Will any one of 
us forget that clever thought of .some brilliant brain wliereby we were forced to leave our 
extra shirts and trousers at Camp Thomas? just as though we were going out "as 
skirmishers" after the enemy in peaceful Georgia. The Corporal bought an extra 
pair of trousers, shirt, etc., in Charleston, as did most of the others but he lias fully 
expected to see a magazine article from some nice second childhood old lady, mascjuer- 
ading in a general's uniform, explaining how the "mobility" of the army was increased 
by that masterly order. That word -'nKibility " has a great attraction for war experts. 
but The Corporal always thought he could get into the fight with all the speed necessary, 
even though he had an extra pair of pants to take care of. The great national prayer 
ought to be "Bless our officials in power with good common horse sense." 

Extract from "Memoirs of General Wm. T. Sherman," pages 387-388: 
"The greatest mistake made in our civil war was in the mode of recruitment and 
promotion. When a regiment became reduced by the necessary wear and tear of service, 
in.stead of being filled up at the bottom, and the vacancies among the officers filled from 
the best non-commissioned officers and men, the habit was to raise new regiments with 
new colonels, captains and men, leaving the old and experienced battallions to dwindle 
away into mere skeleton organizations. I believe with the volunteers this matter was left 
to the states exclusively, and I remember that Wisconsin kept her regiments filled with 
recruits, whereas other states generally filled their quotas by new regiments, ami the 
result was th.\t we ESXiM.vrED .\ wiscoxsi.n KEOiMKNr Kyu.\r, ro .\n okuinaky 

BRIGADE. 

The Corporal never fully appreciated the wonderful power of the "press" of our 
country until he became a volunteer. It seemed for a time as though it was the only 
power willing and able to right our wrongs. The "press" is the greatest safe-guard 
the United States has. Good luck to it— so called yellow journals and all. Let the light 



shine in. If there is nothing harmful to be seen, no harm can follow. And if wrong- is 
discovered, the remedy is easy. 

If The Corporal was asked what in his opinion were the most important items mak- 
ing for the health of the volunteer, he would say, first of all, good food, ]iroperl_v cooked; 
then, wooden floors in tents, good sanitation, and cheerful, congenial tent mates. With 
seven men in a nine by nine tent, this latter means much. 

If he was obliged to choose between a good captain and a good cook, he would select 
the gootl cook, although the former would be very apt to have the latter. 

If he was an officer, he would encourage harmle-ss games and fun and a strong com- 
pany feeling. He would encourage the men to tell him their real troubles, and impress 
them with the fact that he was their best friend. If the officer was a gentleman he need 
have no fear of lowering the dig-nity of his position in di/mg this, because the American 




"OUK TOWN" OF AIBONITO, POKTO KICO, FROM THE SPANISH BARRACKS. 

volunteer, at heart, is a gentleman also. The heart counts for much at the front. If it 
is true, the officer is sate and strong with his men. If it is not true, no amount of veneer 
or polish can ever make him right with them. 

If he was .1 private, lie would endeavor to make a frieml of every man in the comiiany. 
and cultivate a desire to help every poor fellow who was in trouble; and it's wonderful 
how the men's faces will turn in kindness to one who will do these things and how much 
better his life and the life of the company is because of it. 

General Miles handled the Porto Rican situation splendidly, and because of the fact 
that it was so skillfully planned and carrietl out few lives were lost in actual conflict. 
The Spanards were kept continually retreating, and when a town was taken it was ours 
for all time. We had heard much of General Miles' "grand stand" display of uniform, 
but the first time he passed through our camp at the front, were it not for his magnificent 



horsemanship and physique, one could not distinf,'-uish him fr..m his orderly. Tlie C(>riK)rai 
believes General Miles to be the g-reatest living- soldiei-. 

It is a g-reat pleasure to give the praise, which is his due, to a fine young: ollicer on 
General Ernst's staff, whom we were brought in daily contact with -The Corporal refers 
to Captain Bethel, Adjutant of the Brigade. He was a West Pointer, and a gentleman 
every inch of his soldierly form, and withal he was a practical worker with gumi h<>r-,c 
sense. He could be with the men, and ul the men, and yet comin.md the r.-spcil du.- hi-, 
position, and best of all gain their love and contidence Tlu're is a lesson here as to 
what constitutes a gentleman in the eye of the volunteer. 

"We cannot forget the splendid act of Colonel Moore, wlu) marched on foot at tiie head 
of his regiment going into the fight at Coamo. "When it i> romemhered th.it the Colonel 
had been mounted since the 28th of April, and we realize that it was a --upreme test for 
the strongest and best trained, the Colonel's feat stands out e(|ual to .uiytiiing performed 
during the campaign. 

We can never sufficiently express our gratitude to the women of Superior for the gre.it 




THE "TRAVP:LLEK"S home" IX "OUK TOAN" Ol- AIHOMTO. I'OKTO KICO. 

aid they gave us. They were simply indefatigable in their efforts. The Evening Tele- 
gram and all the local papers ably seconded the ladies, ami they all have warm places 
in our hearts Two beautiful silk flags, one a national and the other a state, are treas- 
ured by us as a remembrance of their wonderful kindness; but the many lives they saved 
are too precious to be able to thank them for in words. 

The Corporal insists that to make a certainty of the men's being well and properly 
fed, the officers must eat the same food, prepared by the same cooks. It is absolutely 
necessary to the well being of the company, battalion, regiment, brigade, division and 
corps during war time -the truth will be brought home .so strongly that jvjor food will be 
a thing unknown. 



The Corpor.'il spent a (la\- on nuard at a certain Division Headquarters in Cliicka- 
inaii,i,'-a, and ujion his return asked his captain, as a special favor, never to send him there 
ag-ain. He uislied to keep just a few of the ideals of his boyhood throug-h life. Captain 
Newton was surprised and asked for an exphmation, whicli follows: "Captain, those 
officers do not seem to possess the faintest conception of their duties to the men. Thej' 
are living- on the best foods, sleeping- on comfortable cots, and enjoying a summer picnic, 
while the men are eating- fat hog, split down the back and dubbed bacon, and sleeping on 
the ground contracting death. The sinks are wide open all over this camp spreading- 
contagion while one busy officer is parading up and down displaying a most wonderful 
red silk sasli about his graceful waist; another has not moved out of his tent, except to 
his meals; and there is work enough about this camp for every officer there to be up all 
night solving these problems; but, Captain, tlie last straw came when an effeminate 
individual called for the sergeant of the guard to send liis colored "man" to liim to 
manicure his toe nails. 




ADIOS, AIKONJ'IO. 
COMI'ANV I BIDS KAKF.WKI.L TO "OUK TOWN" OF AIHONITO, PORTO RICO. 

Contrast this picture with that of the Headquarters of that sturdj' gentleman. General 
A. H. Burt, w-hose very first act was to see personally to the wants of the men; and yet, 
strange satire, General Burt was sidetracked at Tampa, wliile the individual witl: the 
red sash kept on to Porto Rico. 

The men of the volunteers were superior to the officers in grasping and learning- the 
the business — for war is a business. Tliey displayed a greater intelligence. In many 
cases the responsibility of wearing a shoulder strap seemed to deaden and paralize the 
best of men. And the liig-her the rank the more conspicuous this became. 

The briglit, redeeming features being the sj^lendid nerve, intelligence and fig-hting 
(jLialily I if llie men; and so far as bravery was concerned, of the officers also. 



The Corporal, in statiiiLT these truths as thev appeareil to him, ihjes so on tlie broad 
j;rouiul of "tiie good of tlie country." Tlie business man nr farmer wlio stays at Iminc 
and furnishes the mone\ to run the army is as much a part of that army as though he 
carried a gun or wore shonlder straps, and ought to do liis share in preventing a re- 
currence of an}' such experience as the volimteers of the S]ianisli-Ainerican war |)assed 
through. It was perhaps "a blessing in disguise" tiiat we learned <iur lc-.s(jn with xu<ii 
an "easy" foe as Spain proved. 

In the awful blunders of the British officers in the present IJoer war thi> terrible, 
useless sacrifice of men's lives — The Corjioral can see plainly tlie gleam of tiie "red silk 
sash." At least in oin- countr}' we can guard against, we must guard against, incom- 
petent men being placed in charge of the lives of the best soldiers on earth. 

The Corporal believes that a certain amount of military training b}- competent in- 




THE LADV WHO WKLCOMKU US TO NKW VOKK. 

structors should be part of the public school work; and it could be so taught that it would 
be more of a pleasure than a task. The Corporal does not believe in military rule: he 
would never vote to place a military man in the seat of that great statesman. President 
McKinley, although that great statesman was a good soldier when it was his duty to be 
one. But every boy either hopes or fears that at some time he may go to war. and why 
should he be thrown into the maelstrom of a volunteer army, in case of war, unfle.lged 
and raw ? Why should he not be taught at least the rudiments of the business? Again, 
it is a business; nothing more or less. 

The Corporal devoutly hopes that some blessed day the "angel of arbitration," will 
arrange all disputes, but that is a day far off lie fears. 

Inasmuch as it is written as plainly as the printed page that some day the I'nited 
States will include every foot of ground in North and South America i>eacefully let us 



liope. but ;it the cost of many lives, perhaps — let us be prepared to fulfill our destiny. 
Let us learn a lesson from that wonderful Admiral, the matchless Dewey, who won his 
fig-ht before he met his foe, by the sjilendid training- of a life time. 

The Corporal cannot speak in too warm terms of the splendid officers of our regiment. 
In his mind's eye he can still see: Colonel Moore, mounted on dear old "Major," with 
his ringing "Battalions take full distance Pass in Review. Hau." Lieutenant Colonel 
Parker and his well known views on sanitation. Adjutant Holway, thetj'pical American 




wic AKKMvr-:, ON rmc Manitoba, at weehawken, new jeksey. 

soldier, c.ilm and sy>tematic. and such a wontlerful worker. Adjutant Cousins anil his 
familiar 'First Sergeants. Front and centre. Double time. March." Major George, 
our own dear old major, ihe veteran of two wars. Major Kircheis, of the easy and like- 
able ways, .ind tine soldierly (jualities. That puz/ling- little Major Richards, with his 
half smile of amusement, whu turned into an electric battery on occasions. And that 
well kntjwn and able senior Captain Ballard, whom we liked to ufo out under. 



"TAPS/' 



And thus ends our little story. 

We volunteers were not beyond criticism by any means. We were far from ])erfect. 
and tlie fact of dressing' us up in blue or khaki imiforms did not chiinj,fe our disjiositioii.s. 

We were very human, and if \-ou want to I<n(j\v a man tiiorouj^^hly, ^n into caniii with 
him. You may think you know him before you have hail that ex]ierience, but afterwards, 
for all time, you will be positive that you tic. 




ADJUTANT HOLWAY IS PK ESICNTED WITH A SWOKD — THIC M ANM OKA — NKW YOKK. 

But this one fact should always be borne in mind (it often kept The Coriwral from 
saying harsh things): The volunteer took his life in his hands, of hi.s own free will, 
because he felt it to be his duty, and "greater love hath no man than this, that a man 
lay down his life for his friends." 



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from "^Urs. tSrurral 01. CSiutu's Tocm 

gniicatcd to (Tompaiui i 



///// liall! Amidst the ryt/iiii 

(>J Porto h'icau lifi- a)id coDuadc story. 

That jiicaii so niiicli to ••tuivs" 
On the short iiiareh of tifc 

TIicv yet imist matce together. 
Let every heart go out to those 

Who made the rugged ptaees smooth. 
" 'file desert blossom as tlie rose." 

Lifting onr sl;y of gloom 
'Lo .Iprit Toeather. 

Cennrailes. the toast! V'hose hearts of gotd 
Who. totto:cing att the icays :ce tread. 
With silz'er threads of hope 
'Lo Ciod and eonnt/ v hind ns. 

May Care t/iei r eoming J'oot-steps /lear. 

And Idusli to hnd hersetf e'en ?iear. 

May drifting years erown them :eitli joy 

Cnsnttied. pure, ivitliont attov. 

Xoiv, voiee it ei'cry sotdier-bov! 

'Lhe o-irts ice teft behind ns .' 



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